Three Stars of Veldin
by Tatsurou-san
Summary: Many parallels exist between Ratchet's story and that of the Prog twins. Both orphans in a world not their own. Both socially outcast young. Both far smarter than all around them. It's easy to believe that had their paths been different, Ratchet could have been the villain and the Progs the heroes. But what if they walked their path together from the first day?
1. Chapter 1

Ratchet clutched tightly to the round of bread and hunk of meat he'd managed to swipe from the farm settlement he squatted near. It had been about five years since his pod had crashed here, and already he was an outcast as a non-contributing orphan on a bootstrap Agro planet. Every morsel he was able to get to eat was either stolen or hunted, and both were precious and not to be wasted. While the meat was from a hunt, the bread was stolen, and he needed to get far away from the settlement before anyone caught him with it. Clutched in his tail was a bottle of nano-milk, even more precious in its own right and the main reason the settlers were chasing him now.

Spying a small cave entrance, he leapt for it, tossing his meat and bread into the air as he scrabbled with his hand-claws to widen the hole enough for him to squeeze through. He pulled his tail and the nano-milk in just in time to stick his hands back out to catch the bread and meat, pulling them in, leaving no trace he'd ducked in. He chuckled to himself as the settlers raced by. "That's what you get for selling my pod for scrap," he muttered darkly as he moved deeper into the cave, his feline eyes letting him see clearly in the exceptionally faint light.

As he lifted the meat to his mouth to take a bite, he realized that the light was pink. "…that's odd…" Curiosity proved to be stronger than hunger, and the six year old made his way slowly towards the source of the light.

As he approached, the light grew brighter, occasionally flaring as though electricity was sparking. This caused a more cautious approach, since he knew electricity to be dangerous unless tamed, and the few tools he'd managed to swipe from the settlement just weren't enough to make him confident in his ability to tame whatever this was. Still, he shifted meat and bread to the same hand while reaching to the pocket of his baggy trousers – also stolen, and the only clothes he had for himself – to pull out his screwdriver, his preferred tool/weapon for just about any situation. This would either be a machine he could attempt to fix or scavenge for parts, or a creature he could kill for extra meat…or a robot he'd have to defend himself from, but that was unlikely.

Turning a corner in the cavern, he froze as he caught sight of the source of the light. A crack ran along one wall of the cavern, glowing with pink sparking light that seemed to be barely contained. Even as he stared, the crack seemed to seal itself up, leaving only an angry sounding voice muttering in a language he didn't understand. Ratchet decided that whatever this was, he wanted nothing more to do with it. Turning, he moved to rush all the way back to the other end of the cavern…only to pause as he heard a sniffle.

Turning back, he saw two figures hunched against the wall opposite the crack. Both had very pale, almost white skin and shocks of pink hair on their heads. One was small and wispy, while the other was bulky. Both were less than half his size and the larger one seemed to be trying to comfort the smaller one.

 _Kids,_ Ratchet thought to himself. _Looks like another couple of off-world orphans, just like me. Well, they can expect to get the same treatment I did…_ He frowned as he thought back to those early days after his arrival on Veldin. How he'd fought to try and keep his pod – the only thing he had to know who he was and where he came from – fought for every scrap of food, and fought to keep from being a target of the other youngsters' scorn and disdain…only to be cast out of the settlement after losing everything. Going wild, discovering he could easily circumvent any security measure the settlers used to secure their resources, and finding he could easily hide where they could never reach him, or never think to look. A harsh, unpleasant life that left him rather cynical. _Good luck to these two trying to emulate me,_ he thought to himself.

A soft sniffle echoed in his ears. Getting a better look at the figures and getting a whiff of them, he realized the smaller one was female. The little girl was on the verge of tears as she clutched at her belly, the larger male desperately trying to comfort her.

Ratchet stared at the tableau for a time, still not having been observed. _…they won't make it,_ he finally determined. _There's no way they can survive on their own_. He started to turn away again, deciding it wasn't his problem…but couldn't.

 _They're just like me,_ he told himself. _Alone on a world not their own and outcast by anyone who might care for them. They look even more out of place here than I do, and I doubt they'd survive the sun without help if they're that pale, let alone any other hazards._

 _It's hard enough just getting food for me!_ he countered hotly. _How am I supposed to feed three?_

 _And can you live with yourself if you turn your back on them?_ he demanded of himself. _If you prove to be no different than the farmers you so despise?_

The little girl whimpered something softly that sounded like a word as she reached up towards the boy, who grabbed her hand. He responded in the same language, plainly promising her something…probably to take care of her.

Ratchet sighed to himself. _I'm probably going to regret this._ He stepped out of the shadows and walked towards them. "Hey," he called out gently, trying not to frighten the pair.

Both spun to look at him. The girl looked afraid. The boy suppressed fear to look belligerent. He shifted to stand between Ratchet and the girl, his surprisingly large fists balled defensively.

Ratchet paused, holding up the bread. "Hungry?" he asked curiously. When this caused no reaction, he brought the bread to his mouth and took a small bite. Chewing, he swallowed before holding the rest of the round out to the boy.

The boy stared at the round of bread for a time, slowly and carefully edging towards Ratchet. When he was in reach, he snatched the round out of Ratchet's hand and dashed back to the girl, breaking off a small piece and trying to feed it to her. The girl tried to eat, only to cry as the bread fell out of her mouth, seeming to have difficulty chewing for some reason.

Sighing, Ratchet shifted to hold the nano-milk out with his tail. As much as he relished what for him was a rare treat, the little girl plainly needed it more than he if she was that weak. The boy took the bottle and – after a bit of fumbling – held it to the girl's lips so she could drink. She drank a third of the bottle before she was strong enough to eat some of the bread.

Ratchet squatted down and scooted closer. "So who are you?" he asked curiously. When they simply stared blankly at him, he groaned and shook his head. "Guess I have to try a different approach." He put his hand to his chest. "Ratchet." He gestured to the boy.

The boy blinked at him for a time, then finally responded, "Prog."

Ratchet moved his hand to the girl. "Prog," she confirmed in a soft, quiet voice.

Ratchet blinked. "Huh, must be a family name. Guess they're siblings. But not what I was hoping for." He gestured to both children, drawing a circle around them with his hands. "Prog," he stated firmly. He then made a circle around himself indicating no one else, then crossed his arms in negation. He once again gestured to himself. "Ratchet."

"Vendra," the girl piped up before Ratchet could gesture, showing she was quick on the uptake.

"Neftin," the boy added, catching on almost as quick.

Ratchet smiled. _Well, they're pretty quick. Shouldn't be that long before we're communicating normally._ He glanced between them. "You two brother and sister?" he asked, hoping to get confirmation.

Neftin frowned, plainly trying to parse out what Ratchet was asking. Vendra apparently was _much_ quicker in thought. Taking Neftin's hand, she said something in their language immediately followed by "Brother" quite firmly.

Neftin blinked, then said a different word in their language. "Sister?" he added, more uncertain than Vendra had been. Vendra nodded confirmation.

Ratchet smiled as he scooted closer. "Well, glad to see language shouldn't be a problem for too long," he declared, settling down beside them and taking a bite of his meat. Noticing the pair staring, he sighed and tore the meat into thirds. "Here," he said finally, giving them each a third.

Neftin responded by drinking half the remaining nano-milk before handing the bottle back to Ratchet. He then tore the round of bread into thirds, giving Vendra the middle third with the least crust and handing Ratchet the third he'd taken a bite out of to explain 'hungry'.

Ratchet smiled as he stuffed his meat into the bread to eat, chugging the nano-milk with pleasure. "We're going to take care of each other from now on, okay?" he offered. "We don't belong here, and everyone else here is going to make a point of letting us know that. I'm used to it. But as long as we stick together, we'll show them, okay?"

Neftin frowned, his lips forming around words, shaping things Ratchet had said. Vendra placed a hand on his and said something in their language. They shared a smile before they each took one of Ratchet's hands. "Brother," they stated firmly.

Ratchet's smile turned softer as he blinked away tears. "Yeah…I'm your brother now," he confirmed. _Huh, whadda ya know? I have a family now…_


	2. Chapter 2

" _Audio Diary Entry 1: Veldin Caverns_

" _Ratchet was nice enough to indulge my desire for machines to tinker with, and I've managed to cobble together a device to let me record my thoughts and feelings for everything that's happened. Ratchet's been a great brother in that way, and Neftin's glad he trusted me on this._

" _We're still living in the caverns where we were found, since the sunlight on Veldin is rather punishing for me. We mostly go out at night anyway, to steal whatever we need. We've even managed to make the deepest parts of the caverns comfortable. Though I think the best part of that was how Ratchet reacted when I started levitating things. He said it was so cool-"_

"Vendra, what are you doing?" Ratchet asked as he stepped into her part of the cavern, seeing her talking into the device she'd constructed. "And what is that, anyway?"

Smiling, Vendra showed off the floating device with a grill on front and whirring clockwork on the back. "It's an audio diary!" she declared proudly. "This way I can record everything that happens to us, and what I think and feel about it all."

"Impressive!" Ratchet praised as he looked it over. "You're pretty good with your tiny hands."

Vendra flushed at the praise. "I've also been trying to make us a few tools or weapons, something so we can actually _take_ what we want by force instead of having to sneak around and hide."

"Time enough for that when we're all stronger," Ratchet promised. "Nef's out hunting just now, so you can bet we're going to be eating well tonight."

Vendra chuckled. "Yeah, he takes down the big guys really well."

Ratchet smiled as he leaned back, staring at the machine parts scattered around. "I feel like I could do something with all of this…if only I had a tool to work with. But the tools are too well guarded in the settlement, so we'll need to be careful if we want to swipe one."

Vendra nodded as she floated herself into the air, hovering over to a small cubby-hole Neftin had gouged into the wall of the cavern for her. "I'd be happy with some more clothes," she grumbled as she shucked her present brown smock made of poorly sewn grain-sack for another. "It's really hard to get these clean, as frequently as I have to change them."

Ratchet tilted his head in confusion. "…clean?"

Vendra rolled her eyes. "Boys…"

Neftin staggered in, carrying a rather large carcass across his back, a large loaf of bread under one arm, a cheese wheel under the other, and a thermos of nano-milk clenched in his teeth. Setting everything down, he grinned widely. "Got a light, bro?" he asked Ratchet as he slumped down, the large boar-like creature he'd killed for dinner bigger than all three of them put together. "This thing'll taste better cooked than raw.

Ratchet smiled as he grabbed his spark rocks and the store of firewood. It had only been a year since Neftin and Vendra had arrived, but already things had drastically improved. The three of them together could swipe more than Ratchet ever could alone, and they each had their own unique advantages. With Vendra's technical skill and telekinetic abilities, she was ideal for slipping unnoticed into the storage sheds for the smaller necessities they needed. Neftin had rapidly started to bulk up even more than he'd been on arrival, making him a good muscle for busting into things, carrying things off, or fighting back the few times the trio got cornered. Ratchet's instincts and cat-like agility had gotten them out of more than their fair share of jams as well, binding the trio close together. At this point, Ratchet thought of himself as Ratchet Prog, and never wanted to go back from that.

Once the fire was lit, Vendra grabbed the laser knife they'd managed to snatch from their last raid. While it didn't have a working power source – the reason it had been in the scrap heap instead of locked up with the other tools – Vendra had discovered accidentally that she could channel her power through it to make it work. Floating it away from her, a few quick cuts opened the carcass, letting Ratchet and Neftin get to work. Neftin focused on tearing the edible meat into manageable chunks, while Ratchet divided the offal into bait for traps for smaller creatures for when they couldn't hunt something larger. It wasn't long before several chunks were roasting for dinner over the fire, while others were hung carefully to smoke for later eating.

"Vendra, the crack was talking," Neftin spoke up as he dug into his portion.

"Huh?" Vendra and Ratchet demanded in confusion.

"The crack in the wall," Neftin explained. "The one we came through. It's talking."

"Is…that normal?" Ratchet asked curiously.

"It's a crack between this reality and another one," Vendra explained. "It means someone's on the other side, trying to reach us."

"Then we should probably go talk to them," Ratchet suggested. "It might…it might be your family."

Neftin and Vendra both looked at him in surprise. "But…you're family," Neftin pointed out logically.

"You know what I mean," he explained. "Your…parents. They might have come looking for you. You…might be able to go back home." He lowered his gaze. He'd gotten used to having the pair here. The idea that they might be leaving…it hurt. But he cared about them. In the past year, they had bonded. They were his brother and sister. If going back through the crack – back to their parents – was what was best for them, then he'd do his best to make it come to pass, no matter how much it would hurt to be alone again. He could handle being alone. He'd been alone most of his life…

Neftin glanced between Ratchet and Vendra for a while. He then spoke to Vendra in the language they'd spoken when they arrived. Ratchet was used to this. There were some concepts Neftin hadn't learned to express in the language Ratchet knew, mostly because he didn't know the words for them himself. Anytime the pair reverted to their own language, it was trying to make sense of something new.

After a time, Vendra turned back to Ratchet. "You're family," she stated simply. "And…if you can't come through with us, it won't be home."

"We won't leave you behind," Neftin promised.

Ratchet blinked away tears. "…thanks guys," he whispered softly, digging into his food to hide his emotions. He was only seven; he didn't know how to handle all of this.

"And we'll go see who wants to talk to us together…after supper," Vendra confirmed. "For now, let's eat."

Ratchet chuckled softly as he took the direction, and dug in.


	3. Chapter 3

Once the trio was finished eating, they carefully made their way back through the caverns to the Crack, where Vendra and Neftin had arrived. As it always had, the Crack glowed with pink light from the other side, plainly visible to Neftin and Vendra, and visible to Ratchet once they pointed it out to them. What was different from before, however, was the fact that the Crack had opened slightly, letting them see glimpses of a world of pink light beyond. However, most of the visible area was taken up by a massive eyeball that locked onto Vendra as she approached. Once she was close enough, it began speaking to her in the language she and Neftin knew, but Ratchet did not.

Vendra's eyes widened as she listened to the words. As she listened, Neftin translated as best he could for Ratchet. "He says he's the leader of our people, and he's been looking for us ever since we went missing. He says he's surprised we're alive unprotected over here, but is pleased."

Neftin listened as Vendra responded in the same language before continuing his translation, along with the creature's response. "Vendra's asking why he's surprised, and he said that natives of our plane normally can't survive here unprotected, and those of this plane can't survive unprotected over there. Now Vendra's asking about…our parents."

Ratchet nodded understanding. "Yeah, I get it. In her position I would too…" His voice trailed off as he heard the tone of the Eye's response, and saw Vendra and Neftin's face pale. "What's he saying?"

Neftin lowered his gaze. "He…he says our parents are dead, he doesn't know how…or why we're over here."

Ratchet nodded sadly, reaching out to lay a comforting hand on Neftin's arm. He couldn't offer comfort to Vendra yet, as she was still focused on trying to communicate with the Eye, but he made a mental note to give her a big hug once she was done.

After a time, Vendra began talking again. "She's asking why he's here now," Neftin translated. "Asking if he's here to bring us back."

The Eye responded, and Vendra and Neftin's faces both fell. "He can't?" Ratchet interpreted. Inside, he found he was relieved that his siblings wouldn't be leaving him…only to feel horrible for such a selfish thought. He wouldn't have held them back from going…

"No," Neftin confirmed. "He's just finished examining us…and we're too adapted to this plane. We can't go back to the…" He frowned, rubbing his chin. "I don't know that word in this world's language, but it describes our plane, language and species. Not sure what the equivalent would be…"

Ratchet shrugged. "We'll figure that out later," he promised. "If he's not here to take you back, what is he here for?"

Neftin's eyes widened as he listened to the words. "He says…he says he can guide us to bring our people here."

Ratchet's eyes widened in shock. "Really?" he gasped. "But…what will that do to this plane? And the people native to it?" Not that he really cared beyond their little family, but that applied to him too, last he checked.

"Vendra's asking now," Neftin explained.

The Eye was silent for a time. When it finally responded, Vendra gasped in shock. "What does it matter?" she demanded in anger before Neftin could translate. "What do you _mean_ 'what does it matter'? My big brother over there happens to be native to this plane, so I'd say it matters what would happen to him if we let that realm loose on this one!" The Eye growled at her, but Vendra interrupted. "You said it yourself, our parents are dead! Now unless there's other family members you haven't told us about that you can trot out for us to talk to, I'm going to choose family over complete strangers as far as who I help! So I suggest you either tell me what's going to happen to the natives of this plane, or get lost!"

The Eye snarled angrily, and the words that followed echoed with rage. Vendra's face paled beyond even its normal white. "No…no way! I don't care about the rest of them, but I am _not_ helping you do that to Ratchet! Get lost, freak! I'm not-"

The Eye suddenly roared, and a wave of pink light emitted from the Crack, focused on Vendra's head. She screamed in pain, clutching at her skull.

"Vendra!" Neftin called out worriedly, rushing to her side, only to be knocked back by the light.

"Leave her alone!" Ratchet roared out, rushing the Crack as he tried to reach through it to grab the Eye. However, even touching the energies of the Crack caused him to pull his hands back as agony raced through his limbs. Angrily, he grabbed a few bits of mechanical junk Vendra had left lying around here and rapidly cobbled them together. "I said leave her alone!" he snapped, hefting the tube he'd cobbled together over his shoulder, pulling the makeshift trigger. The front end exploded as a rock was launched at high speed, slamming into the Crack and causing the cavern to collapse on top of it. This cut off the pink light, allowing him and Neftin to lead Vendra away as that segment of cavern collapsed behind them.

Once they were back in their main living cavern, Ratchet looked closer at Vendra. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. "He…he didn't damage you, did he?"

Vendra and Neftin stared at him in shock. Finally, it was Neftin who spoke. "When did you learn Nether?" he asked curiously.

"Nether?" Ratchet demanded, confused. "Is that the word you were looking for? But I'm not speaking-" He froze as he actually heard the words coming out of his mouth, and realized they weren't what he thought he was saying. Working his mouth carefully, he spoke again. "W…how did I learn Nether?" he demanded, relieved to hear he was once again speaking the language he expected.

"That energy…" Vendra spoke up carefully as she smoothed her bright pink hair back into its normal upward pointing horns. "He was attempting to establish a mind link, to exert dominance over my mind and force my obedience. When you got in the middle of it, you must have been hit with thought stream from both sides. You must have learned our language from that…"

"Ratchet…" Neftin spoke in awe, lifting the somewhat damaged tube. "What…what did you do?"

Ratchet looked down shamefacedly. "I…I'm sorry I sealed off the Crack. I didn't realize it'd have that much kick. I just…he was hurting Vendra-"

"I don't care about that!" Neftin insisted. "Vendra made it plain we weren't having anything to do with…the Nether? Yeah, that's the right word." He hefted the tube. "I meant what is _this_?"

"I…I'm not sure," Ratchet admitted. "But…I knew how to make it…"

Vendra carefully lifted the tube. "It's a little crude, and too damaged to use again…but Ratchet? This is a _weapon_."

"A weapon…" Ratchet murmured, his voice awed as he heard the power of the word.

"And…I think we can make more," Vendra purred. "And better ones. The world Neftin and I came from is lost to us. We have no idea what world you came from. So let's take _this_ world for our own! With enough weapons and good ones…who's going to stop us?"

The three siblings looked at each other, slow grins spreading on their faces. It was time for these kids to show they didn't need adults anymore…


	4. Chapter 4

" _Audio Diary Entry 2: Veldin Plains_

" _Our plan to make weapons to take over Veldin for ourselves proved far too easy to carry out. Getting the resources we needed to make the weapons was simplicity in itself, since there was literal tons of metal scrap left over that the farmers had no idea how to use for their colony. They keep it piled up in one corner of the fenced in grounds until it gets big enough to warrant calling in a space freighter to take it away. After…well, making mental contact with Mr. Eye gave me a few new ways to use my Nether Energy, and I don't want to think about it more than that. I'm just going to focus on the abilities themselves._

" _I've always been able to use my energy to make me float, or make something float towards me. Now, however, I can also shape it into a solid blade just beyond both hands, making an excellent cutting tool. I can easily cut a hole through the fence to let Ratchet and Neftin carry out huge piles of scrap back to the plains where we've set up to start making more weapons. When we're done for the night, I fuse the fence segment back into place, and the settlers are none the wiser since they never bother keeping track of how much scrap is there, just whether it's enough to pay to have it hauled away…whatever 'pay' means. That's a concept all three of us still don't get._

" _Ratchet and Neftin are focusing on making more of those tube weapons Ratchet used on Mr. Eye. They like how it made a big explosion, and they're working on making the explosions bigger and further away…and on making sure the tubes aren't damaged by the launch, so they can be used multiple times. I had a different idea._

" _You wouldn't believe how many gears get thrown on the scrap heap just for having broken teeth. With some careful cutting, I can make ten or twenty razor sharp bladed discs from each gear, and treating them in my nether energy helps them really hone their edge. Figure that'll really clear the room if I send them bouncing around-_ "

"Why throw them yourself?" Ratchet asked curiously, interrupting Vendra's dictation to her Audi-Diary. "What if you cut yourself?"

Vendra rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to hold them in my hands," she pointed out logically. "I'm going to float them along behind me and hurl them with my Nether energy."

"You can control that many at once?" Neftin asked in surprise. "I mean, you've made several hundred. If you could handle that many at once, why not just float the entire scrap pile away in one go? Or drop it on one of their buildings to scare them away?"

Vendra frowned irritably. "Okay, that's something I'm still working on…"

"I think I have an idea," Ratchet offered, bringing over a couple of things he'd been working on. One was a motor he'd managed to fix, and another was a windmill-shaped part of a sorting system that spun in a vertical circle at adjustable speeds when powered. "I was originally thinking I could use these to throw bombs, but what if we tweaked it to throw your discs instead? We could put them all in a big container so that a new one slides into the slot as soon as the slot empties, and set it to throw them when you hold down a trigger."

Vendra grinned widely. "I think that can work. The trigger gets the motor running, which turns the wheel and throws the blades. Set the speed at whatever will give a constant feed, and I'll be able to storm them with blades of death!"

"Uh…what if the blades hit us?" Neftin asked worriedly. "I mean, look at those edges? And they don't lose those edges when they bounce."

"They're coated in Nether Energy," Vendra pointed out. "As long as we focus that energy while we're marching in, the discs will bounce off us."

"Will they bounce off me?" Ratchet asked worriedly. "I can speak Nether, but I don't think I have Nether energy…"

"I've already taken that into account," Vendra declared proudly, pulling out a pot and a set of drying racks. "I've made you some Nether energy imbued armor. It doesn't look all that impressive, but it'll protect you from our power, or anything that uses it."

"Sweet!" Ratchet crowed eagerly, sticking the pot on his head and hanging the drying racks over his torso like body armor. "In that case, once we've got these weapons ready, I think it's time to take this planet for ourselves!"

All three shared eager grins, ready to make their stand.

012343210

The settlers and farmers of Veldin were startled out of their idyllic if difficult life when a massive explosion consumed a supply shed, destroying a good amount of useful tools and other devices needed to keep the colony running.

"Nobody move!" Neftin bellowed out at the top of his voice. "Next one who moves without our permission is gonna regret it!"

As expected, a few of the adults moved for the shed with the weapons, only to be forced to duck and cover as Vendra unleashed a volley of disc blades, the deadly razors whizzing audibly through the air as they ricocheted off every surface, just barely avoiding divesting their targets of bits of their anatomy. At the same time, a blast from Ratchet's weapon opened a big divot right in front of the weapon shed.

"My brother warned you," Vendra said coldly as she floated up over the settlement. "Now that we have your undivided attention, let us make one thing clear: this planet and everything on it is ours now. We know you have the ship that brought you all here originally, and that it's still space worthy. So use it and get off our planet. Anyone still here by the time the sun sets is dead."

As one of the adults who was armed – with a Gadgetron Omniwrench of all things – leapt to the attack, Neftin shot out a free arm and seized them around their head. While he was still small, he was already bulking up ridiculously, and his reflexes were nothing to sneeze at. "I don't think so," he growled out angrily, flipping his arm to slam the man into the ground repeatedly until he dropped his weapon. Neftin then hurled the man towards the other huddled civilians, before picking up the Omniwrench and handing it to Ratchet. "Fits your hands better than mine," he stated simply.

Ratchet grinned as he swung the oversized wrench a few times. "I like it!" he proclaimed eagerly. "Good for fixing things…and breaking things." He glanced around at the assembled settlers eagerly. "Well?"

012343210

Well before sunset, the group had achieved their endeavors. The ship had taken off, and the three of them were the only sophonts left on the planet. They'd promptly raided the storage sheds for anything they wanted, before piling the rest up so they could laze around on it as they enjoyed the food and drinks they'd never been able to get through thievery.

"This is the life!" Ratchet proclaimed happily as he lay back amongst a pile of pillows and mattresses. "No more running and hiding, no more fear…just living how we want as we eat our fill at every meal…"

"Finally having enough clothes to wash them between wearings and wear more than one outfit!" Vendra purred as she tried on outfit after outfit of the clothes left behind, her own pile consisting primarily of plush animals.

"Living off the fat of the land…" Neftin agreed as he chugged a bottle of nano-milk before laying back to relax amongst the carefully sealed food storage units. He then glanced from those to the farmlands, and to the lands empty of other people. "Say, uh…do either of you know anything about farming?"

Dead silence hung over the group. "I…think we might have overlooked a few details…" Vendra admitted, rubbing the back of her head.


	5. Chapter 5

After two weeks, the three youngsters who now had de facto rule of Veldin were still no closer to figuring out how to get food out of the ground then they'd been when they'd first conquered. On top of that, the stores of food that had been stockpiled before the conquest were starting to run out. While the trio could easily subsist on hunting, that would actually be a step down in terms of diet from where they'd been before, as now there wasn't anyone to steal from. All three were becoming very concerned about their situation.

This may have been why, despite their 'claim' to the planet, the trio's first reaction on seeing a spacecraft come in for a landing on the settlement's landing pad was fear as they ducked into a shed to be hidden from sight. Once the craft had landed, they began moving towards it with weapons drawn, ready to blast it to bits if it was hostile, or capture it if it wasn't.

When the canopy finally opened, the first thing to be extended was a bit of white cloth on a stick. As it began to wave, Ratchet yanked out a laser weapon Vendra had cobbled together from the weapons shed and fired, shooting the makeshift flag. "Yowch!" an elderly, good-natured voice declared from inside the craft. "Who shoots on a flag of surrender? I was signaling for parley!"

All three kids blinked in confusion. "What's a flag?" Vendra asked first.

"What's surrender?" Neftin added.

"What's parley?" Ratchet inquired.

There was silence from inside the craft. "Don't you kids read at all?" the voice finally demanded.

"Don't know how yet," Vendra responded readily. "Don't need to read to build deadly weapons to shoot our enemies with."

Silence once more reigned for a time. "I come in peace!" the voice finally called out. "I want to negotiate!"

The three glanced at each other until Ratchet noticed that both Vendra and Neftin were looking at him. Apparently, they considered him the leader and wanted his guidance. He internally debated what to do here, and finally decided to indulge curiosity…cautiously. "Alright!" he called out. "You can come out, but if we see any sign of a weapon, we shoot!"

"No weapons, I promise!" the voice replied. Slowly, a white-haired, reptilian green head lifted out of the cockpit, the friendly if cautious gold eyes framed by blue glasses. Two three-fingered green hands came out with the head, followed by the rest of the squat body garbed in dark brown. Once he was all the way out of the craft, it became plain that he was quite old, easily old enough to be the trio's grandfather if not great-grandfather. Somehow, all three felt themselves relaxing in his presence. "I'm Wendall Lumos," he greeted calmly, "founder and CEO of Gadgetron."

The trio glanced at each other in confusion. "Is…that supposed to mean something to us?" Neftin asked finally.

"Probably not," Wendall admitted, "but it will. You see…it means my name is the one on the deed to this planet. Gadgetron paid to get foodstuffs and mineral resources out of Veldin."

Vendra grinned widely. "So you're the one we need to grab if we want to get this planet officially our own?" she demanded eagerly.

"Wouldn't really work that way," Wendall pointed out. "See, you three are minors. Legally, you can't own the planet. To be frank, as far as legality is concerned, since you three aren't registered as galactic citizens…you don't exist."

Vendra and Neftin exchanged confused glances, but Ratchet's eyes hardened. "So what? You're going to just brush us aside and take the planet back?"

Wendall chuckled. "Boy, do you think I'd have come here _alone_ if that was my intention? Gadgetron spans the entire galaxy, and has the latest designs of weaponry and armor at its disposal. If I wanted to 'brush you aside', I could just take you out from orbit." Seeing Vendra and Neftin tense up, he grinned. "Plainly, I have something else in mind if I didn't do that, don't I?"

Ratchet's lips pulled back in a snarl. "Quite playing games!" Ratchet snapped out angrily. "What do you want?"

"I could simply tell you, but you have no reason to trust me," Wendall pointed out. "If, on the other hand, you let me explain…"

The three youngsters quickly exchanged glances. "We're listening…" Ratchet said finally.

"I didn't found Gadgetron to become the biggest gadget company in the galaxy," Wendall explained. "I founded it because the galaxy is full of little people with big brains and bigger dreams, me among them. Mine was that there should be a place where all those little people can safely make those dreams a reality, without being preyed upon by companies that seek to squeeze them dry of every possible idea before tossing them aside to seize the next one like a vulture. The company owns Agro/Mine planets like this one so we can get food and resources to the scientists who work in the company without having to pay a middleman. Anything we don't use goes onto market alongside the products we make, and the profits go back into the company to improve working conditions and effectiveness so even better things can be created."

He smiled widely as he saw he had their undivided attention. "So you can understand why I came here personally when I heard three _very_ little people had the big brains to design weapons we'd never heard of before, and the even bigger dream to claim a planet for their very own."

Vendra started to back away nervously. "What do you want with us?" she demanded defiantly, gripping her disc launcher even tighter.

"Nothing bad, I promise!" Wendall insisted. "Though for right now, I'd appreciate that particular weapon being pointed somewhere else. As much as I was hoping to get a good look at that one in particular, this is _not_ the view I was hoping for." As Vendra nervously lowered the weapon, Wendall leaned in to examine it. "Fascinating. Ricochet blade weapons have been in R &D ever since the last company movie night was a ninja movie marathon, but we could never get the discs to hold their edge long enough to be a viable weapon that way. And the launching mechanism…fascinating. How did you get the edge so sharp and make it glow like that?"

Vendra found herself flushing. Wendall obviously knew what he was talking about, and just as obviously was very impressed with her work. "Nether energy," she offered bashfully. "Neftin and I have it, from another world where we came from. I used it to split the gears into discs, and infusing it into the metal makes it keep its edge."

"Fascinating," Wendall almost purred. "Tell me, would you at all object to providing other scientists with samples of that energy, to see if it can be synthesized? I can only imagine what could be done with a ready supply of such power…"

Vendra quickly pulled back. "No!" she insisted quickly. "I…I don't want other people poking at me…"

"Very well," Wendall allowed before Ratchet or Neftin could get overprotective. "How would you like to do that research yourself, then?"

"W-what?" all three asked in shock.

"Like I said, Gadgetron is about giving little people with big brains and bigger dreams a safe haven to make those dreams a reality," Wendall explained, standing upright with a wide smile on his face. "And you three certainly qualify, and I want you working for me. So here's the straight, up-and-up deal I'm offering you three. This planet? Your home, straight away, complete with the deed being transferred as soon as one of you is old enough to legally own property. Gadgetron bots run the farms and the mines. You get first pick of food and resources for your own needs, the rest transferring to Gadgetron for redistribution with a credit to a trust fund in your names, made available as soon as you understand enough economics and computer use to make supply requisitions. In the meantime, I clear all the paperwork to get you three recognized as legal entities within the Solana Galaxy government, and provide you with state of the art equipment to continue your research and development at whatever rate you want, and whatever completed projects you decide to send onto me get credited to you in the same way it does for every other scientist working for Gadgetron."

Ratchet and Vendra's eyes both widened. This sounded like a great deal. They get their own planet, someone else taking care of all the details? Getting to make even more cool toys? An adult actually on their side? Admittedly, the last seemed a bit farfetched, but there didn't seem to be any deceit in Wendall's stance or words…

"Hang on a moment, gramps," Neftin called out. "You said we're too young to own property. Don't that mean we're too young to have a job? How's that gonna work?"

Wendall chuckled softly. "Well, that's the kicker. The way I'm going to take care of all of that is also the way I'm going to make you recognized legal entities. If it's alright with the three of you…I'm going to adopt you."

The three kids glanced back and forth between each other. "Any idea what that word means?" Ratchet asked Vendra.

"I was hoping you could tell me," Vendra replied. "It's not one we encountered before."

"What's adopt?" Neftin asked curiously.

An expression of obscure sadness briefly flickered across Wendall's face, but he quickly pasted his smile back on. "It means I become your guardian," he explained. "From a legal standpoint, we become family-"

"Oh!" Vendra called out suddenly. "Like when Ratchet found Neftin and I and took us in, and he became our big brother!"

"Exactly!" Wendall confirmed, grinning widely. "In this case, I would become your father…or grandfather, if that feels more natural." He chuckled softly. "Given the age difference, that seems more appropriate. What do you say kids?"

While the notion of another person as dedicated to them as they were to each other was greatly appealing, another concern arose. "If you're our guardian, does that mean you're going to stay here?" Ratchet asked worriedly. "Telling us what to do?"

Wendall shook his head, smiling as he lowered his hands. "No, I won't be telling you what to do. Big brains dream bigger dreams without supervision. But I will be here as often as I can, just to look after you three. Won't be always, but it will be as often as I can manage." He looked up with a grin. "One thing I _will_ insist on is that you don't spend all your time doing research. Kids deserve a chance to be kids, and I will insist on at least 4 hours of playtime every day."

The grins that crossed the trios' faces were infectious. Wendall couldn't help but laugh. This was going to be the start of something wonderful.


	6. Chapter 6

Ratchet stared around in awe at the changes that had been made. It hadn't even been a week since they'd made the agreement with Grandpa Wendall – as they'd all taken to calling him in their own heads, if not out loud yet – and he was already keeping his part of the bargain. The farming robots were already tending the farms, bringing in plenty of foodstuffs for the trio and shipping the rest off to be used in the rest of the company. Mines had been set up well away from where the trio normally ventured, designed to do as little damage to the landscape and vistas as possible while extracting the maximum amount of viable resources. And best of all from Vendra's perspective, a state of the art lab had been set up for her to do her experiments in and study whatever she felt like studying…although the first month or so of studies would probably be dedicated to questions such as 'what is this piece of equipment', 'how do I use it', and 'how do I make it explode/keep it from exploding'.

While Vendra wasn't entirely comfortable being inside a building for her lab, it was logical to do so since it contained delicate equipment that needed protection from the elements. Grandpa Wendall had offered to build the trio a house so they didn't have to stay in the caves, but the discomfort in an actual building was universal. As such, they were remaining in the caves while mining and construction robots worked at digging out the inside of a large hill to reshape it into a comfortable dwelling for the three youngsters. In the meantime, they took every opportunity to sleep in real beds, wear clean clothes, and gorge themselves on anything available to eat.

The one part of the arrangement they weren't happy with was the tutor bot. All three had raised a hue and cry when they found out they had, in essence, been enrolled in school without being told, and had been on the verge of dissolving the agreement. Grandpa Wendall proved to be quite clever about it, however, and had chosen to address Vendra directly about it. He'd already put together that Ratchet and Neftin were protective of their wispy sibling, and quite a bit would be put up with if it was for her good, and he knew the best way to needle her was through her pride.

"Vendra," he'd asked simply when she'd complained loudly about being 'stuck in school', "you want to keep making plenty of inventions and prove everyone who treated you like nothing just how much better you are than them, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Vendra had snapped back. "I'll make them eat their words."

"So you want to be taken seriously as a scientist and inventor to prove you're the best?" Wendall nudged gently.

"Absolutely!" Vendra confirmed as she swelled with pride, thrusting her chest out.

"Well I can tell you right now it's not going to matter how brilliant your inventions are, or what research you accomplish," Wendall countered incisively. "Nobody's going to treat you like anything but a particularly clever child if you can't solve two plus two on a chalk board because you don't know what a plus sign is." He smiled, ready to defend his hyperbole.

"What's a plus sign?" Vendra asked flatly, looking rather uncertain.

"What's a chalk board?" Neftin added curiously.

Ratchet groaned, rubbing his head. "Touché. We'll take the lessons…"

"Now don't be like that," Wendall offered in a conciliatory manner once he got over realizing his hyperbole had been accurate. _These poor kids…_ "The tutor bot I'm providing is programmed to take all three of you forward at whatever rate you're comfortable going, so you'll never be bored or left behind, always perfectly challenged. Give it a chance, it could be fun!"

In hindsight, Ratchet was forced to admit that Wendall had been right again, as galling as it was to have an adult come in and start rearranging their lives. Ratchet had already mastered reading and writing in Solana Standard, and had taken it as a challenge to himself to write out the Nether Tongue in comprehensible symbols. Neftin had gone from reading into studies of combat, eager to enhance his own impressive abilities. Vendra seemed to be going in every direction possible, and seemed to take delight in shorting out the tutor bot by advancing in too many subjects at once. Even at the times when Ratchet and Neftin were feeling ambivalent about their own lessons, the look of delight on her face whenever that happened was enough to keep them going.

Of course, the highpoint of the changes had to be their introduction to Holovision and Virtual Games. The sheer volume of experiences through the game console engaged all three thoroughly – especially when they played cooperatively or against each other – and the sheer number of shows they could watch on the HV was mind boggling. As should have been expected, it wasn't long before all three had developed distinct interests in terms of shows, frequently leading to all out brawls over control of the remote whenever all three wanted to watch their shows at the same time. The most frequent casualty of their brawls was the remote control, leading to Vendra's first non-combat invention being a self-repairing remote control that could completely reconstitute itself even from being smashed completely to bits.

When he heard about this – and the reason for it – Wendall had offered to provide an extra two HVs so they could all watch their own shows. The response had been surprising.

"Why would we want to watch it alone?" Vendra had asked bluntly. "It's no fun if we can't share in it."

Wendall had blinked in surprise for a time, but smiled widely. "Well, how about I add a system that will let you record the shows, so nobody has to miss theirs?"

The trio exchanged glances. "Does…does that mean we won't fight over the HV anymore?" Neftin asked plaintively.

"…we can still fight over whose show first," Ratchet offered. "And since we can watch them all, there won't be a time limit on the fights anymore."

Wendall had promptly facepalmed on seeing the eager grins on all three faces.

While the initial fights over who got their show first were exceptionally intense, their favorite part of watching the HV was when they were watching a quiet movie. Neftin sat back on the sofa, his large weight causing the cushions under him to bow as he sank in. Ratchet sat next to him, the bowed cushions causing him to sit higher than Neftin. Vendra then took her favorite spot, sitting in Neftin's lap while her head rested in Ratchet's, with his hand idly futzing with her hair. So comfortable was the position and state for all three that it often took the tutor bot seizing one or more by the ear to get them to budge, even when the movie had ended.

Yes, their lives had changed drastically since making the agreement, and not in the way they'd expected or imagined when they'd set out to conquer. Still, when they curled up together at night wrapped in a blanket that wasn't threadbare or too small, their heads resting on pillows that weren't rocks, and their bedding arranged into a comfortable nest as they sprawled over each other…

With each day ending like that, none of them could really complain.


	7. Chapter 7

It had been a year since Ratchet, Vendra, and Neftin had accepted Wendall Lumos' offer, becoming his wards and adoptive grandchildren. In that time, they'd come to actually enjoy the resulting life that had taken shape as a result. They had all progressed in their teaching to the point the tutor-bot had been retired in exchange for a holo-net terminal for each of them to learn as they wanted, study as they wanted, or not. All three already had the equivalent of a GED, and Vendra had two doctorates – one in Engineering, one in Undefined Physics (once known as 'Theoretical Physics', now defined as covering those areas of universal study and definition that defied laboratory settings, including anti-matter and Dark Matter studies) – and all three were trusted to pursue their own further studies at will.

Oh the other side of the lab, all three had worked harder in their tinkering, coming up with amazing new developments. While Neftin proved to have difficulty in coming up with anything new of his own, he was readily able to take any existing device and duplicate it cheaply and efficiently, streamlining manufacturing processes to maximize use of resources. Ratchet had focused on developing new weapons and gadgets, though his projects were hit and miss. Despite all the resources at his disposal, he was easily distracted even by his own laser pointer, leading to many of his constructs getting away from him…though that proved to have its own usefulness as all three continued to develop their combat aptitude, as none really believed that their claim to the planet would go completely unchallenged even with 'Gramps' backing.

Vendra's developments had been far more impressive and interesting, however. With the success of her Netherblades – which were the number one weapon on Gadgetron's sales charts from the moment a reproduction method became available – she had focused her research on more ways to utilize the Nether Energy she and Neftin could use and had infused Ratchet. She'd quickly discovered that the reason Neftin was bulking up so much more than her was because his energy was focused almost entirely internally, with almost no way to project it beyond his body. To counteract this perceived deficiency, she had designed advanced cybernetics meant to utilize his Nether Energy to both enhance him further and provide offense and defense for ranged combat. The pitch black armor that fit around the majority of Neftin's bulk was both modular and interconnected, making it very versatile. The announcement that the knuckle armor could propel itself forward violently to strike opponents had set both Ratchet and Neftin to squeeing about 'rocket punch', which had made Vendra facepalm.

The three had also become much more aware of the galaxy beyond Veldin, following various sporting events or other significant focuses of news and media. Ratchet had become nearly obsessed with the Hoverboarding sport, constantly trying – and failing – to build his own Hoverboard. Neftin found fascination in the various battle arenas throughout the galaxy – especially Annihilation Nation – though found frustration in the fact it had age requirements. Based on the legal documentation made for them, none of them were yet ten years old, with Ratchet about three years older than the twins. Vendra's own media interest turned towards the various 'heroes' of Solana Galaxy and the 'villains' they fought, as they were the ones most likely to make the best use of any weapon technology she developed. Unsurprisingly, one Captain Qwark took up much of her attention given how often he was in the news…although she frequently decorated the poster of him in their TV room with mustaches, beards, and insulting slurs in Nether. When asked, she merely stated that she found his glory-hounding behavior disgusting if expected, and hated that he took attention away from heroes that were actually worthy of it.

The biggest change in their lives, however, had been their relationship with Wendall Lumos. Originally, calling him 'Grandpa Wendall' had been something of a joke amongst the three, a tease about how he seemed to think he was responsible for them. However, a certain event had drastically altered that perspective.

Six months after he'd adopted the trio, Vendra had fallen ill. It had turned out to simply be her systems finally fully adapting to the native plane and dealing with mutating intestinal bacteria as a result, but Ratchet and Neftin hadn't known that, and neither had Wendall. As soon as word reached him that Vendra was sick, he was on planet with the best medical technology available, and he refused to leave Vendra's side until she was better. Admittedly, Ratchet and Neftin had been the same way, but to them Vendra was their sister. To realize that 'Grandpa Wendall' also saw them that way… After that, the trio had started calling him 'Gramps'. He'd been surprised at the change in appellation as he'd left once they were certain Vendra was okay – and a treatment had been developed to ease the similar adaption Neftin went through not long after – but it hadn't taken him long to realize what it meant. Neftin and Ratchet discovered they weren't overly fond of hugs that day. Vendra discovered she couldn't get enough of them.

As thoughts turned back to that day, Ratchet was surprised to see Wendall's personal space craft coming in for a landing. One he got over his shock, he leapt to his feet. "Guys! It's Gramps!" This got an immediate response as Vendra and Neftin rushed to join him.

As Wendall climbed out of the ship after landing, he was caught off guard as Vendra hurled herself at him in an enthusiastic hug. Laughing, he managed to return it without falling over before disentangling himself, leaving her floating in the air while he waved to the others. "Happy Birthday!" he called out eagerly.

The trio turned to glance at each other in confusion, then back to Wendall. "What's a birthday, Gramps?" they all asked simultaneously.

Wendall chuckled, by now used to the fact that the trio lacked much of what most of the galaxy would classify as 'common knowledge', though browsing the holo-net and watching holo-vision was slowly correcting that. Of course, they often pretended not to know something common as some sort of inside joke. "It's traditional in most of the known universe to celebrate the day you were born by the Galactic Standard Calendar, or by the Calendar of your home planet. As it so happens, Veldin's annual cycle is the same as Galactic Standard – part of what made it an ideal Ag planet – so it's easy enough to track. I registered the day I adopted the three of you as your birthday."

Vendra blinked a few times as she ran a few calculations. "That actually fits, since it's exactly a year after Ratchet found us. That's when we first arrived in this universe, so I guess it's a fitting 'Birthday'."

"And that's really the day my life began as something other than just surviving," Ratchet confirmed, mussing Vendra's hair as she leaned into him, making her giggle.

"So what's the traditional celebration?" Neftin asked curiously.

"Well, there's usually cake," Wendall observed, lifting out a large pastry box and handing it to Neftin to set down on a nearby table. The mention of 'cake' got all three kids excited, as they'd heard about it but hadn't had a chance to try it yet. "There's also some party games, depending on how old the birthday kid or kids are." He handed another box to Ratchet. "Some music and entertainment…" The next box he let Vendra float aside. "And of course, the part most kids find the best…presents!" He hefted three boxes in brightly colored paper out of the ship, carefully setting them down, each box labeled with the name of its intended recipient.

Ratchet immediately pounced on his, tearing it open. "Sweet!" he cried out as he saw the contents. "It's a model ZX Hoverboard! That's the kind the pros use!" He immediately hopped on and attempted to ride around on it.

Neftin opened his and gasped happily. "It's a Scorpion Flail!" he declared eagerly as he hefted out the massive spiked ball-and-chain weapon. "The gladiators use the smaller version of this! I knew Gadgetron was developing these bigger ones, but I thought they were still in beta!"

"They are," Wendall replied. "You're the beta tester. And that one's customizable, designed to interface with your cybernetic augments so you can channel your Nether Energy through it."

Grinning eagerly, Neftin pulled back his arm and swung the weapon a few times, giggling happily at the devastation he was able to cause with it.

Vendra carefully opened her present, only to stare up at Wendall wide-eyed in shock, blushing brightly.

Wendall chuckled softly. "You didn't think I didn't notice who you looked towards first when you recovered, did you?" He shot her a conspiratorial wink.

Flushing brightly but smiling, Vendra pulled out the Lombax plushy – which bore a startling resemblance to Ratchet if one looked closely – and held it in a tight cuddle.


	8. Chapter 8

Neftin was not happy. The peaceful, well ordered, content existence the trio of siblings had been enjoying had fallen apart one night and he had no idea why or how to fix it. One day, the trio was happily doing everything together and enjoying exploring the fully furnished cave home that the robot excavators had finished for them. Living chamber, bed chambers (he still didn't know why they made three, when the trio usually shared), game chamber, dining chamber, and a massive bathing chamber with an artificially redirected natural hot spring. Between that and an underground lake they'd accessed for swimming, the entire structure provided everything the trio could possibly want or want to do save food.

Then Neftin had asked Vendra a question in the spring. Vendra and Ratchet had both gotten awkward, and couldn't look at each other. And now all three had experienced the worst sleep in their lives since they'd actually used all three bed chambers that night, one each. Breakfast had been just as bad, with Vendra and Ratchet refusing to look at each other, and both barely speaking to Neftin. They'd then gone off to do separate things far from each other, leaving Neftin determined to figure out how to fix this.

Unfortunately, Neftin's usual methods of problem solving would not work in this situation. He didn't have enough information to solve it on his own, and he couldn't ask Vendra or Ratchet what to do because the problem focused on them. He stared morosely at his arm, trying to think what else he could do as far as finding a solution…only to realize the solution was staring him right in the face. Specifically, he was staring right at the 'Gadgetron Help' button on his cybernetic armor. Reaching forward, he pressed the button.

"Gadgetron Help Desk," the familiar voice of the Help Desk robot responded, her soothing tones tuned exactly to be comforting, supportive, and open so as to best assuage anyone calling with a problem. "How can I assist you today?"

"Can you put me through to Gramps?" Neftin asked hopefully. "I think I could use his help."

"One moment please," the Assistant responded immediately. As per protocol, any call from Veldin asking for 'Gramps' was immediately put through to CEO Wendall Lumos.

Given the priority the call was assigned, Wendall answered immediately. "Hey there!" he greeted warmly. "What I can I do for you kids?"

"It's just me today, Gramps," Neftin spoke up softly. "Vendra and Ratchet are off doing their own things…away from each other, and me."

On the other end of the line, Wendall immediately sat upright. That _was_ concerning. "Any idea why?" he asked quickly. "I'm assuming if you're calling me about this, it was unexpected and you're hoping I can fix things?"

"That's right," Neftin confirmed. "I…think I can pinpoint where it started, but I can't for the life of me figure out why it happened."

"Tell me what you know," Wendall offered comfortingly. "It might be something outside your experience that I can offer some enlightenment on."

Neftin sighed in relief. "I hope so. It started last night while we were enjoying the hot spring."

"The…hot spring you say," Wendall murmured, a resigned tone in his voice.

"Are you alright, Gramps?" Neftin asked worriedly. "It sounds like you've got a headache."

"Let's just say I already have an idea what this _might_ be, and if I'm right then I'm _going_ to have a headache," Wendall explained. "Go on."

"Well, Ratchet was flexing a bit to see how toned he'd been getting," Neftin explained. "We always used to do that, showing off to each other how strong we were getting. He seemed really happy with how defined his chest was getting, especially around his ribs. I made a comment about how Vendra seemed as willowy as ever…except her chest was getting bumpy-" He paused as he heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh on the other end of the line. "Gramps?" he asked worriedly. "What was that?"

Wendall lowered his hand from his face. "Nothing to worry about," he reassured Neftin quickly. "But let me guess what happened next. Ratchet looked at Vendra's 'bumpy' chest, Vendra stared at him, both their faces turned red, and neither of them have been able to look at each other since, and the three of you probably slept in separate bedrooms."

Neftin's eyes went wide. "T…that's exactly what happened! How did you know?"

"Because I honestly expected something like this to happen," Wendall explained. "It's why I ordered three bed chambers made. I admit I didn't expect it this soon, or to happen simultaneously for Ratchet and Vendra, but somebody up there obviously has a twisted sense of humor."

"Up…where?" Neftin asked, looking up into the sky as though he would discover an answer.

"It's a figure of speech referring to 'higher powers'," Wendall explained. "Don't ask any further. The last thing you need right now is religion complicating matters."

Neftin nodded, accepting the directive. "So…what's wrong with Ratchet and Vendra?" he asked, hoping for an answer.

"Nothing's _wrong_ , per say," Wendall corrected. "They're both going through puberty."

"Puberty?" Neftin asked. "I read about that. That's the process through which young sophonts mature from childhood through adolescents to become adults. It also means many noticeable physical changes along with some emotional ones, can include mood swings in response to odd hormonal changes depending on species, as well as awakening of 'sexual maturity'. I have no idea what that means, though."

"…how do you know so much about that?" Wendall asked in surprise.

"I've taken an interest in cooking," Neftin replied easily. "Vendra can't manage to cook anything without making something explode, and Ratchet's idea of cooking involves sticking something in the reheating unit until it's mush, then eating it with a spoon. If I want a meal that's more than snacking on whatever's handy, I'm the one who has to cook it. That led to me taking an interest in agriculture so I could grow fruits and vegetables in an interior garden for a different diet from what we get from the farms, and that led into a study of biology."

Wendall chuckled softly. "I'd forgotten just how eclectic you three are when it comes to learning," he observed in amusement. "Well, to put it in simplest terms, Vendra and Ratchet have started to notice each other as a boy and a girl respectively, and that's clashing both with their perception of each other as siblings _and_ the fact they don't really understand what's going on. They're trying to avoid confronting it until they figure it out by avoiding times when they are in close physical contact. I'll be there before the week is out to have heart to heart talks with each of them, and see if we can't get this straightened out, okay? In the meantime…don't try to pressure either of them."

"I won't," Neftin promised. "But…please come soon?"

"As soon as I can swing a transport," Wendall promised before breaking the connection to schedule a transport to Veldin.


	9. Chapter 9

As promised, Wendall Lumos arrived on Veldin exactly two days later, the soonest he was able to clear his schedule of anything time sensitive and get a transport to the planet. As he arrived, he was disappointed if unsurprised that no one actually greeted him. Instead, he clambered out of his ship with a large wrapped bundle of holo-zines under one arm. When it came to lectures, he was a firm believer in openness and visual aids as a means of smoothing over awkwardness.

As he entered the main gymnasium – a structure made for the three siblings half for basic exercise in bad weather and half for combat training should they show an interest – he frowned as he saw why he wasn't greeted at the landing pad. Ratchet and Vendra were tied up back to back and hanging from a rafter by a rope that Neftin was holding as he starred up at the pair. "Now you're both going to stay there until Gramps gets here," he stated firmly. "I already got the communication that he's coming, and he's going to fix this…especially this nonsense about 'requesting separate domiciles for all three of us'."

Wendall groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Neftin, didn't I tell you not to force any confrontation until I got here?" he groaned ruefully.

"But they were gonna split us all up!" Neftin whimpered.

Shaking his head, Wendall sighed. "Let them down and untie them, Neftin. I'll have a talk with them and straighten things out."

Nodding, Neftin did as instructed. Once they were untied, Ratchet and Vendra both glowered at Neftin angrily, only to then scoot away from each other blushing. Wendall immediately placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "Kids, I know things have been rough for the past few days…but I can help."

After a time, all three took seats nearby, waiting for him to speak. "Alright," he began carefully. "This discussion has a chance of becoming very awkward, so I'd like all questions held until I'm finished, okay?" Once he received nods from all three of them, he continued. "Ratchet, Vendra, you two have both entered puberty. This means your bodies are changing as you slowly become adults. This is a natural process, and one that is likely to be painful in a lot of ways, depending on how your physiology works. Normally this would only result in some yelling, screaming, angsting, and the occasional bout with medical tech that doesn't work quite right and becomes a learning experience. However, your situation is a bit more complicated given how you've all grown up.

"See, two major things happen almost right away regarding puberty. First is the development of sexual characteristics. Second is the rewiring of the brain to pay attention to sexual characteristics. This is the source of your awkwardness with each other." He set the packet down before taking a seat himself. "Simply put, your reproductive instincts are kicking in. In Ratchet's case, his instincts are noticing Vendra as a female who is reaching breeding age, and are telling him to start posturing and making moves…but the other side of his thought sees Vendra as his little sister, someone he's supposed to protect. This clash creates his awkwardness." He turned to Vendra. "In your case, you're getting the same instincts…but your awkwardness is more likely because that side of your mind says there _should_ be something Ratchet is doing you should be responding to, but there's nothing there. With neither instincts nor civilized mind giving you an appropriate course of action, you're left not knowing what to do. Thus, the awkwardness."

"Does this happen a lot with siblings?" Neftin asked curiously.

"Not really," Wendall allowed. "Such things _can_ happen with siblings, but your situation is unique because you three are the only sophonts on the planet. The awkwardness would be mitigated if both Ratchet and Vendra had others to ogle or posture for who _weren't_ siblings…but that's simply not the case. As a result, the only ogling available for them is each other…which feeds back into the original issue. I do have a solution for that."

With that said, he opened up the packet. "These holo-zines should solve the issue as far as ogling," he explained, revealing the first holo-zine to be titled 'Playboy'. "Reading these, you two can explore your sexual tastes, and get more comfortable with your sexual side without it clashing with your sibling bond. Other than that, I would suggest all three of you avoid being naked together. Abide by this, and I don't see any problem with the rest of your relationship returning to normal.

"Now, if any of you wish to discuss any aspect of this privately, I've spared the next three days specifically for this. I'll be in the ship if you need me. It seats two and has a sound proof canopy, so it'll be plenty of privacy."

With that said, he made his way back to the ship, leaving it to the kids to sort themselves out and come to him if they needed him. They were good at that.

012343210

Much as Wendall had expected, it wasn't long before one of the kids arrived for a private consultation. Much to his surprise, it was Ratchet who arrived first. "Gramps, can I…ask you something?" he asked carefully.

"You can ask me anything," Wendall responded immediately as he closed the canopy for privacy.

"Well, it's just…" Ratchet scratched the back of his head. "Should I feel this way about Vendra? I mean…she's my sister. I shouldn't be thinking about her that way, right? All the media we watch says that the big brother is supposed to protect the little sister from guys who 'only want that'. I always wondered what 'that' it was talking about…but it's this 'that', right?"

Wendall nodded. "That is what they're talking about…but your case is a little more complicated." He rubbed his chin as he tried to think how to explain this. "The reason there's a taboo about siblings having that sort of relationship has to do with genetics. Breeding too close in the genetic pool can cause mutations and birth defects. That's not the case with you two, since you aren't even the same Sophont Species _Group_ , meaning crossbreeding is unlikely, but guaranteed not to have those issues to worry about." He frowned as he lowered his hand. "But if you continue to call each other brother and sister _and_ choose to pursue such a relationship… well, people will judge you. It will reflect back on both of you, and that could negatively impact your futures. You'll need to keep that in mind."

Ratchet nodded thoughtfully. "I…I guess I see your point," he admitted. "I don't want to care about what other people think…but I care a lot about Vendra." He scratched his chin for a time, then nodded. "Thanks, Gramps."

"Don't mention it," Wendall offered warmly as he opened the canopy, letting Ratchet hop back out.

012343210

As sundown approached, Vendra floated into the canopy. "Gramps? Can we talk?"

"Always," Wendall confirmed quickly. "What's on your mind?"

Vendra shifted awkwardly back and forth. "Do…do you think it's wrong of me to have feelings for Ratchet beyond just platonic sibling affection?" she finally asked.

Wendall started to open his mouth, but paused as he turned the question over in his mind. "Are you asking for my personal opinion, or my world view?"

"…what's the difference?" Vendra wondered nervously.

"My personal opinion is just my gut view on the matter," Wendall explained. "My world view is colored by my knowledge of the world at large."

"Personal opinion," Vendra decided nervously.

"Absolutely not," Wendall responded immediately. "I don't think it's _possible_ for something you feel to be wrong. Right and wrong only come in when you're deciding how to act on what you feel."

Vendra nibbled her lower lip nervously. "Do you…do you think it would be wrong to…act on it with Ratchet?" she asked nervously.

"I personally think you're too early in your life to be considering such things," Wendall offered gently. "These behaviors can shape you drastically, and if you aren't ready or mature enough to handle it, that shaping can be very harmful. However, once you are mature enough to handle it…then it's up to you and Ratchet. If the feelings and desires are mutual…then the only opinions that should matter are yours."

"…but what you think about us matters to me," Vendra whimpered softly. "I don't care what the rest of the galaxy thinks…but I care about your opinion. I…I don't want to disappoint or upset-"

Before she could continue speaking, Wendall pulled her into a warm hug. "Vendra, nothing you three could ever possibly conceive of doing would ever make me think less of you…or make me stop loving you. And that's a promise."

Vendra managed to smile as she sank into the embrace. "…even if we take over the galaxy?" she asked, quietly but impishly.

"Long as Gadgetron stays in the black, go nuts," Wendall encouraged warmly, making his little girl giggle happily.


	10. Chapter 10

On the last day before Wendall was going to leave Veldin, there was a knock on his canopy. Lifting it up, he smiled as he saw Neftin climb in. "I'm glad you came," he offered warmly. "I didn't want to leave without addressing any issues you might have, but I didn't want to press either."

Neftin shrugged. "I didn't really have any issues," he allowed. "I don't really get this boy/girl stuff yet, and this just means I don't need to ask Ratchet or Vendra to explain it when I do start to understand. All I really care about in this case is that you kept your word and fixed things between Ratchet and Vendra."

"Fixed them?" Wendall asked curiously.

"Yeah," Neftin confirmed. "We don't bathe together anymore and I'll miss having someone to wash my back, but everything else is back to normal. We eat our meals together and talk animatedly. We tease each other about things – Ratchet and Vendra have started teasing each other about which pictures in the magazines you brought get the most attention – and play fight over the remote again. We watch HV together like we used to, and we all sleep curled up together. Only difference is they're more conscientious about their clothing." He leaned back with a grin. "Like I said, everything's fixed."

Wendall nodded, but there was a frown on his face. "And what about when you do start to discover an…interest of that sort?" he asked carefully. "Ratchet and Vendra will work things out, but all you'll have is pictures. If you want-"

"None of us feel comfortable with letting anyone else on Veldin," Neftin interrupted. "If we ever want company besides the three of us or you, we'll go looking for it rather than calling it in."

Wendall sighed sadly, but nodded in understanding. "Alright. Out of curiosity, how did things fix so quickly?"

"Vendra found a new show for us to watch together," Neftin explained. "Another Old Earth anime. This one seems to be some sort of…the genre's called 'Ecchi Comedy'?"

Wendall groaned morosely. "How in the world does that _fix_ things? Which one is it?"

"It's called 'My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute'," Neftin answered. "Seems to be about a guy dealing with feelings of attraction for his sister, and trying not to let it skew how he relates to her. …at least, I think that's what's going on. Seems to be what Ratchet and Vendra think is going on."

Wendall blinked, trying to parse that in his mind. "And…that helps?"

Neftin nodded. "Ratchet said something about it not standing in the way of being siblings, and now we just enjoy the comedy…even if I don't get a lot of it. They seem to like it, and I'm just glad we're close again."

Wendall shook his head in wonder. "I'm simply amazed you all managed to get past this so…so quickly."

Neftin shrugged. "You came, you saw, you fixed. Just like you promised."

As Neftin hopped back out of the ship, Wendall shook his head once more. "Well…as long as they're happy, I guess I shouldn't complain. Still, I should keep an eye on things, just in case it isn't as smooth as they believe." Making a mental note to monitor their communications and galactic net usage more carefully – as well as relaxing the parental controls somewhat – he began activating the ship's systems. As he did so, however, he was forced to pause to catch his breath a few times. "…damn…" he murmured after the third time. "Space travel isn't agreeing with me anymore…"

012343210

Wendall sat back in his office on Kalebo III as the robotic doctor looked him over. "Well?" he asked as the examination finally finished. "How bad is it?"

"About what's to be expected, given your age and lifestyle till recently," the robot responded in a high, piping voice as he retracted his extended sensor limbs into a more humanoid configuration of white and silver with a single gold optic. "There's a reason medical checkups usually precede hyper-light space travel. Given the state of your heart and musculature, every trip was shaving years off your life. If you cease frivolous space travel, you should be able to last another couple of decades on the outside. But if you keep trying to run around and fix everything, you'll put yourself in a space grave."

"But the kids…" Wendall complained as he shifted his seat into an upright position.

"You can communicate with them via uplink, can't you?" the doc demanded firmly. "It might not be the same as a face to face meeting, but in the long run it's better for you." The doc-bot glowered at him. "I know they're important to you, but you're important to them. What do you think it will do to them if you kill yourself trying to take care of them?"

Wendall winced at the pointed barb. He could well imagine what that would do. They would blame themselves for his death, and their swiftly rising lights would come crashing down in bleak depression…especially as someone else took control of Gadgetron. Whoever it was who took control would be unlikely to honor the deal Wendall had made, wanting profit before people, and would try to take the planet back from the kids. But their developments had gone well beyond what they'd originally made…and if it meant protecting what was theirs in an hour of grief…

"I understand," he offered finally. "I'll keep my space flight to a minimum, and have someone fly me instead of using a one-man craft."

"See that you do," the doc-bot instructed firmly before setting some bottles down on the desk. "These should help with the residual physical symptoms, but you should still take it easy for at least a week. Stick to desk work, and try to keep the stress down."

As the doc-bot left, Wendall sighed before turning to his desk. His thoughts regarding what could happen to the company – and the kids – if something happened to him still stuck in his mind. He decided he would have to do something about it. Reaching for his desk phone, he called up his lawyer.


	11. Chapter 11

The following years on Veldin passed rather uneventfully. Ratchet, Neftin, and Vendra continued to enjoy each other's company without too much trouble, and the attraction issue that had arisen between Ratchet and Vendra was pushed far from their thoughts. As their bodies became more developed, they each began spending more and more time running around the planet and pushing their physiques, working out stress and hormones through physical effort. As a result, all three were growing quite well as they moved into puberty.

Ratchet remained rather short as compared to other sophonts, but his musculature became wiry and lean as though his entire body were a coiled spring waiting to explosively unwind all at once. His strength, speed, and reflexes were all through the roof, and he'd learned to throw his Omniwrench in such a way that it would spin forward in the air before returning to him…even if he moved from his original spot. Neftin and Vendra both found issue with the physics of it initially, but Vendra's studies revealed that it was a result of Ratchet's exposure to Nether Energy, causing him to be able to mentally command his Omniwrench as a weapon shape he was long familiar with, calling it back to him after hurling it.

Neftin had bulked up and up and up to the point he was twice as large as Wendall Lumos had been when he last visited, with his upper body massively overgrown to the point he almost looked hunched over, with his shoulders bulked over his head. The cybernetic augments Vendra had designed for him had grown with him, now making him a fearsome figure even if one looked close enough to notice the signs he was only half grown. He could easily lift massive boulders five times his size, and at a dead run could keep up with Ratchet when he ran on all fours like a gorilla. He actually enjoyed running like that, and often responded to playful teasing along those lines by hooting and howling like one while beating his chest. His Scorpion Tail mace had fully adapted to his Nether Energy, and now unleashed devastating shockwaves when slammed into the ground.

Vendra's growth went in a completely different direction, however. Where Ratchet was lean and Neftin was bulky, Vendra was rather willowy. Since she preferred to hover and float everywhere, her limbs weren't as strong as they could be, though they were still strong enough to hold anything she needed to hold and walk herself around if she needed to. However, the constant hovering and moving things around with her mental force and Nether Energy had drastically enhanced her abilities in that regard. It was a rather common occurrence now for one of the others to step into her lab only to see literally everything in it orbiting her on her command, moving to exactly where she wanted it to go at all times…and for the one who'd entered to get pulled into the orbit without Vendra seeming to even realize it.

As Ratchet approached what had been determined by his physical maturity to be his 16th birthday, things seemed to be going quite well for all three of them. However, as the actual day approached, all three started to get antsy. From everything they'd seen in media, turning 16 was a big milestone for a sophont, and they fully expected Gramps to show up to celebrate with them. However, not only was there no sign of him, they'd received no message from him to expect him, or to explain his absence. In addition, all contact with him since Ratchet and Vendra had entered puberty had been via Holo-Calls, leaving the trio somewhat worried.

"Do you think something's wrong?" Ratchet asked Vendra worriedly as the pair paced back and forth, Ratchet on the ground with Vendra hovering above him. Thankfully, Vendra had taken to wearing leggings rather than skirts, as otherwise the position would have been quite awkward for Ratchet.

"Well something must be!" Vendra insisted. "The last call I got from Kalebo wasn't even from Gramps! It was from a lawyer asking for me, and he asked me a whole bunch of questions and kept assuring me everything was fine. If he'd said things were fine one more time, I'd have experimented on whether or not I could send my Nether Energy through hyper-light communications just so I could give him an atomic wedgie!"

"Lawyers saying everything's fine?" Ratchet mumbled worriedly. "That's never good. But how are we supposed to find out what's going on? Gramps has been evasive about his next trip, and he'll probably be just as evasive if we ask him what's wrong!"

"That's why I asked someone else," Neftin spoke up as he entered the room, lowering his arm. "According to the Help Desk bot, Gramps has gotten too old for hyper-light travel. He probably didn't want to tell us that he couldn't come to see us anymore because he didn't want to pressure us at all as far as leaving the planet."

Ratchet and Vendra lowered their gazes as Vendra floated down to the same level. "Damn…" Ratchet murmured worriedly under his breath. "He's that unwell? I…" He shook his head. "And I was really looking forward to seeing him…maybe getting a 'you're an adult now' noogie…"

Vendra floated back and forth for a time…and then a slow smile spread across her face. She then lifted her face, and her voice rang out in a surprisingly clear, ethereal, bell-like soprano. "Do you want to build a spaceship?"

Ratchet suddenly turned to Neftin in shock. "She's not…"

"Come on, let's go to spa~ace!"

Neftin groaned, putting one hand to his face. "She is…"

Vendra began to float around the pair, floating close to each of their faces as she continued to sing.

"Or we'll never see Gramps anymore

Like it was before

Or he might fade away…"

"She's obviously worked hard on this," Neftin continued, "so let's just let her sing…"

"It used to be so easy

But now it's not

But we can fix it if we try!"

Ratchet managed a smile. "Well, she's certainly not bad."

"She did study three units of musical theory, lyric composition, and voice control," Neftin pointed out. "…each."

"…wow, our studies are eclectic," Ratchet mused.

"Do you want to build a spaceship?" Vendra sang out finally.

"Yes!" Ratchet and Neftin bellowed together.

Vendra blinked in surprise, then grinned widely. "Soon we'll fly…" she sang at long last.

"How long did you work on that, anyway?" Ratchet asked curiously.

"About five minutes," Vendra answered cheekily, only to have to dodge several thrown pillows.

Smiling, Neftin lifted his arm and pressed a button.

"Gadgetron Help Desk," the voice responded immediately. "How can I assist you today?"

"We want to build a spaceship," Neftin responded immediately, "off the books. We want it to be a surprise for Gramps."

There was silence for a time. "…I can help you with that," the voice responded finally.


	12. Chapter 12

Ratchet, Vendra, and Neftin had worked hard on their ship. They'd followed the instructions of the Help Desk Associate as carefully as they could, while at the same time making sure they used only the best parts they could get or manufacture. The ship was sleek and elegant, black with arcs of Nether pink for coloration, with a four seater canopy and powerful engines on the rear. The wings spread to either side, with strong lasers at the tips for defensive weaponry. Rather than landing gear, it had a Negative Gravity Generator that allowed it to remain hovering just off the ground, and a simple Auto-Pilot that would cause it to seek out the nearest accessible landing pad when summoned by the control Vendra kept with her at all times. The controls inside the cockpit were simple and elegant, designed for Ratchet's hands since he had the strongest sense of sight and quickest reaction time, making him the best choice for pilot. The trio were _very_ proud of their ship, and eager to get it into the space. There was only one last step. Grinning eagerly, Neftin touched his arm com. "And finally?" he coached the help desk associate.

"Final step, attach robotic ignition system," the associate responded.

"Seriously?" Vendra snapped out angrily. "After all this work to build this ship and you don't think to mention that to begin with?"

"Those things are _expensive!_ " Neftin confirmed. "And regulated!"

"My apologies," the associate offered sorrowfully. "Your request to keep your project a secret from CEO Wendall Lumos somewhat limited my options. This is the only ship design I can distribute without making a report of it. Even with the liberties and modifications you took with the design, it remains a ship that requires robotic ignition, a safety measure that makes the ship available to any civilian."

"It's not your fault," Neftin offered quickly, not wanting to upset the associate. "You did what we asked. We'll just figure things out from here on our own." With that, he broke the connection.

"Figure it out on our own?" Ratchet demanded irritably. "What, you think a functional robotic ignition system is just going to fall out of the sky?"

A loud boom drew all their attention towards a single-passenger ship that was rocketing towards a distant plateau in a blazing fireball. Neftin focused his optic enhancer on the crash site, then turned to Ratchet with a smug grin.

Grinding his teeth, Ratchet turned theatrically to the sky. "It's not like the world's largest ice cream scoop is going to come falling out of the sky!" he declared facetiously. A large bird dropping struck him right between the eyes, causing Vendra and Neftin to burst into laughter. Ratchet grumbled irritably as he wiped the dropping away with his work glove before turning to lead his siblings towards the distant crash site.

Since they'd been hard at work, Ratchet was dressed comfortably for the environment in slacks, overalls, work gloves, and goggles with his Omniwrench in hand, a Gadgetron Bomb Glove on his other arm as a back-up weapon, a Nether Blaster on his hip for added enforcement. Due to how developed Neftin's cybernetics had become as they grew with him, he wore only tight fitting pants, leaving half his pale torso bare to the sun as the other half was covered by black metal, which ran up along both hefty arms to regulate the flow of his Nether Energy, his Scorpion Flail gripped in one hand. Vendra dressed as always completely for comfort, with grey yoga pants and a tight pink t-shirt with 'Bad Girl' written on the front. Her Netherblade Launcher rested on her back as she floated along, her Nether Energy dancing around her hand and over her pink hair, done up in a twin horn style she'd grown fond of after watching an Old Earth cartoon show about teenage superheroes. One of her favorite characters – whom she closely resembled – wore her hair in the same style.

The only hostiles the trio encountered on their way to the crash site were horned toads – small orange desert amphibians – and Thunder Soldiers. The Thunder Soldiers were one-wheeled robotic drones with electric discharge weapons left behind by a group of space pirates who had attempted – briefly – to invade Veldin to make away with food and resources. They had reconsidered when Neftin had used one of their dropships as a hand-held ballistic missile to take out one of their space-born crafts. Still, the Thunder Soldiers had remained, working off their pre-programmed orders to reproduce themselves in a futile attempt to pacify the countryside. They barely held together from one strike from any of the trio, so they'd never bothered informing Gramps about them. They proved enjoyable challenges in large groups when off on solo exercise jaunts across the planet. The horned toads were barely worth mentioning, unless one of the trio wanted a fast protein snack.

It didn't take long for the trio to reach the crash site. While the ship was mostly wreckage, a small, lunchbox shaped robot seemed mostly intact. "Let's take him back to our ship," Ratchet offered. "It's closer to home, and Vendra's tools."

"Pretty sure I can get him working without too much trouble," Vendra confirmed as Neftin picked the little robot up. "Though I want to examine him thoroughly first. I don't recognize the model…"

Once back home, Ratchet and Neftin got to work fine tuning the ship's systems while Vendra carefully popped the robot's chest compartment open to examine his internals. After a time, however, she sat up. "Neftin, can you get your eye enhancer over here? I think I'm seeing things in here that…that there's just no way it can be real."

Curious, Neftin moved over, twisting the cover on his eye to shift the vision modes. "Hmm…I'm seeing spatial compression…high energy output…are those chronitons?"

"Thought so," Vendra murmured as Ratchet came over to hear. "This little robot…he's got time manipulation technology built in. But the systems are locked, along with a slew of other tech that I can't even begin to properly analyze. And I don't want to mess with those unless I can get him back online." She closed the chest plate. "On the plus side, he _does_ have a fully functional robotic ignition system. I could probably remove it, but if I can get him online…"

"Get?" Ratchet asked, pointing to where the tiny robot's optics were slowly opening to reveal a green glow. "I think he's coming around."

The small robot extended spindly limbs like a turtle, his ball-shaped head bouncing a little on his neck, making his antennae wiggle. "Greetings," he offered calmly. "I am XJ-0461. Who might you be?"

"I'm Ratchet," Ratchet offered calmly. "And these are my brother and sister, Neftin and Vendra."

"And I'm going to call you Clank," Vendra insisted firmly.

The tiny robot frowned. "I am uncertain-"

"Unless you'd prefer I refer to you by numeric designation and treat you like a source of spare parts rather than an individual," Vendra continued.

"…Clank will do nicely," Clank allowed. "Perhaps you three could assist me. Currently I am in search of someone who could be of assistance in saving the galaxy."

"Leave that to Qwark and the other professional heroes," Vendra suggested. "If Qwark doesn't take care of it himself, maybe one of the other heroes will get some of the spotlight…unless he steals it from them."

"I need to get in contact with him," Clank insisted. "There is a threat which I believe he is not yet aware of."

"What threat?" Neftin asked curiously.

Clank reached into his chest compartment and extracted an info-bot – a small, square-faced robot designed to carry and display a video message – that quickly expanded to normal size. It then expanded its face into a full screen to display its message.

A diminutive brown-skinned alien Vendra recognized as a Blarg wearing a pinstripe suit appeared on the screen against the backdrop of a starship control center. "Hello, citizens of-" he began. A new image cut in, the blue and green world of Novalis as declared by the subtitle and navigation coordinates. "My race, the Blarg, have a small problem. Our planet has become so polluted, overpopulated, and poisonous…" As he spoke, the image shifted to a dreary planet with green air, slowly filling with gas mask wearing Blarg. "…that we are no longer able to dwell here." The image shifted back to the speaker. "But I, Chairman Drek, have a solution."

The image shifted to a sketch of a planet built of pieces. "We are constructing a pristine new world using the choicest planetary components available." The image shifted back to Drek. "So, what does this mean to you, you might ask?" A schematic image of a high tech space-born grabber, followed by an image of it ripping a chunk off a planet. "Using highly sophisticated technology which you couldn't possibly understand, we will be extracting a large portion of your planet and adding it to our new one."

The image shifted back to Drek. "Unfortunately, this change of mass will cause your planet to spin out of control and drift into the sun where it will explode into a flaming ball of gas, but of course, sacrifices must be made. Thank you for your cooperation."

"And cut," another voice declared from off camera.

Drek's demeanor immediately changed from pleasantly urbane to fiercely petulant. "And if you don't like it, you can take your whiny, sniveling, snot-nosed populations, form a line behind me, and kiss my-" He stopped as he looked off camera. "What do you mean we're still on? Well turn it off, you idiot!"

The message ended.

"The people on those planets are hosed," Ratchet murmured softly. All three siblings' expressions grew thoughtful.

After a time, Vendra shrugged. "Not our problem," she stated plainly. "Our problem is getting a robotic ignition system to get our ship into space."

"I happen to be equipped with the latest robotic ignition system," Clank pointed out quickly. "If you will agree to escort me to Captain Qwark – or whoever is able to take on the job of stopping Drek – I will activate your ship so you may fly wherever you wish. Is this an acceptable exchange?"

Neftin tapped his chin thoughtfully. "If Drek rips the prettiest planets apart, there isn't going to be much to see when we go out in space…"

As they spoke, two Blarg ships descended towards the plateau. "You had best decide quickly-" Clank began insistently

Neftin seized a chunk of metal and hurled it casually towards the ships. It flew like a ballistic missile, tearing through the first ship before smashing the second to bits in a fiery explosion.

Clank stared at the wreckage so easily caused. "…I do not suppose there is any chance I could convince the three of you to take the job of saving the galaxy?" he asked hopefully.

"You'll need a lot more than a ticket to the stars to convince us of that," Ratchet countered firmly. "But we'll deal with anyone in our way along the way."

"I will take what I can get," Clank allowed as he clambered into the co-pilot seat of the ship. Ratchet quickly took the pilot's seat as Vendra and Neftin sat in the back. Clank activated the ship, and the canopy closed as it lifted into the air before shooting for the stars.


	13. Chapter 13

As they shot away from Veldin, leaving the planet for the first time in their lives, all three siblings turned to look back towards the planet through the cockpit, watching as it slowly shrunk into the distance. "So…that's home," Neftin finally spoke up, his voice thick with emotion.

"Yeah…" Vendra murmured thoughtfully as her pink wings flapped idly as they always did whenever she was in a confined space. On the one hand, she was eager to see more of the universe. On the other, she'd overlooked that this meant spending a great deal of time in a confined space like a ship cockpit. Aside from being in caves, Vendra hated being in confined spaces. If she didn't have at least 30 feet in all directions to move about in, she got tense and panicky. She made a mental note to see if she could reverse engineer the spatial compression tech she spotted in Clank as a means of expanding the interior dimensions of the ship's cockpit without altering the exterior dimensions. That old Earth show had made it look reasonable, and she wouldn't mind _too_ much redesigning the ship to look like a police box on the outside if that was what it took.

Ratchet turned to stare out eagerly at the retreating planet. "So that's where we've been stuck all this time…" His emotions were more mixed than those of his siblings. While Veldin would always hold a special place in his heart as home, as where he met them…even with the three of them being the only sophonts on the planet, he'd long since discovered that the world was just too small for him. He craved adventure, excitement, danger…and there just wasn't any of that on Veldin. He had a – possibly instinctive – incredibly strong wanderlust. Veldin would always be _theirs_ , but it was also a beginning. Ratchet was more than ready to see the rest of the story.

"Please return your appendages to the steering mechanism, Ratchet," Clank spoke up worriedly.

"He doesn't have to," Vendra spoke up. "I built cruise control into this baby, along with obstacle detection a light year long." She pointed to a radar screen on the main console that showed a few green blips at the very edges. "It'll let us know if anything gets in range that we need to take evasive maneuvers, and short of that, Ratchet only needs to hold the controls for takeoffs and landings."

"…most impressive," Clank observed thoughtfully. "Where did you learn to make such advanced systems?"

"Several years of trial and error," Vendra replied nostalgically. "It took me a while to figure out how to make things that didn't explode, for a change."

The console beeped, indicating their approach to Planet Novalis. Ratchet quickly took the controls, guiding them safely in to touch down on a landing pad. Novalis was a lush planet of mountains and grasslands, though it was hard to see the picturesque beauty through the attacking Blarg ships and automata. The group hopped out of the ship, quickly taking in the surroundings. "So…now what?" Neftin asked curiously. "We can't really go anywhere without coordinates, and we don't have coordinates for Kalebo III."

"I guess we look around for someone with an infobot," Ratchet decided. "That's probably the only way we'll _get_ coordinates. Vendra, get high and see if you can scout out anywhere people might still be. Once you spot them, we'll head over and get some information."

"On it," Vendra confirmed, her pink energy wings giving a strong flap to send her soaring upwards. She couldn't maintain such high altitude for long, or make such leaps very often, but it was a great way to do initial scouting. In the distance she was able to make out a tall structure, and a clearing beyond it. "That way," she declared, pointing in the direction of the structure as she came down. "Buildings and what looks like a ship landing spot. If we can get information anywhere, it's that way."

"Then let's go!" Neftin declared, leaping down the cliff they were at the top of with Ratchet racing down behind him on all fours. Vendra glided down after them, leaving Clank to race to keep up after taking the elevator platform.

The Blarg automata included small critter-like bots that attacked with teeth and bipedal bots that attacked with an arm mounted blaster. Both kinds went down easily, proving no stronger than the horned toads or Thunder Soldiers of Veldin. Their path led them to the structure Vendra spotted, which proved to be a rather large bridge. Before they could cross, however, a ship flying by shot three holes in the bridge, somewhat destabilizing it. This forced them to move somewhat carefully over it, but didn't delay them long. When they reached the clearing, a rather clunky ship set down, guarded by three more of the blaster wielding bots. Feeling impatient, Neftin seized one and hurled it at the other two, smashing all three.

Once the coast was clear, the ship's hanger opened and a thin, blue skinned old man in plain peasant-brown clothes staggered out, looking terrified. "Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me!" he wailed out. "What are you? Mercenaries-"

"Sure, let's go with that," Ratchet interrupted. "No one's paying us yet though."

"Can you save us?" the old man asked hopefully. "All I've got is my infobot…"

"We'll take the infobot to get you out of combat range," Vendra countered. "It's not worth more than that."

"Deal!" the old man agreed, pushing the infobot forward. The bot promptly opened to display its message.

The video displayed showed a greyscale confrontation between Captain Qwark and a large monster…only for Qwark's blaster to fail at a critical moment. Vendra grinned eagerly…only for her grin to fail as the video paused just before the monster bit Qwark's head off. "Has this ever happened to you?" the voice asked.

The video shifted to a city view, with Qwark waving to the camera. "Hi, I'm Captain Qwark, and believe me there's nothing worse than staring down a Blargian Snagglebeast from the inside and knowing your equipment isn't functioning properly." The video shifted to a logo, declaring 'Big Al's Robo Shack'. "That's why I come to Al's Robo Shack for all my electronic needs. Al has been the exclusive repair shop for my electro-gadgets since I was knee high to a sand mouse. If Al can't fix it, it's not broke-"

Vendra muted the remainder of the message. "Clank, can you get planet coordinates from the bot without the message?"

"Certainly," Clank confirmed as he minimized the infobot into his chest compartment. "Metropolis coordinates download complete."

"Then as soon as we drop this guy off, that's where we're going next," Ratchet insisted. "The sooner we pass this quest off to someone else, the sooner we can find our way to Gramps."


	14. Chapter 14

With nothing they could see left to do on Planet Novalis – and a clue to Qwark's location – the group made their way back to their ship and set course for Planet Kerwan. The trip proved to be much shorter than the one from Veldin to Novalis, and even less eventful. After all, there was no emotional reaction to leaving Novalis – it had only been the first stop on their journey, nothing more – and only excitement of yet another new world filled the group.

After entering Kerwan's atmosphere, the ship settled down on a Metropolis landing pad. The city of Metropolis covered a large portion of Kerwan's surface, and was made up entirely of soaring towers interlinked with arching bridges, the actual surface of the planet all but invisible far below as hover vehicles shot between buildings in the clear, cloudless air. Ratchet, Vendra, and Neftin stared around in awe, having never seen a building above a single story before in their lives. Their travels on Novalis had kept them to the natural surroundings, which were only different from Veldin in that they were a bit greener. This…this was completely alien to their experience.

"I don't think I like this place," Neftin finally spoke up. "There's no nature, no wide open spaces."

"We're going to be spending a lot of time…inside, aren't we?" Vendra murmured nervously, unconsciously floating closer to Ratchet.

"We'll try to stick to the outside paths," Ratchet promised.

"There are a great many outdoor paths," Clank offered helpfully, "along with several artificially maintained parks. It is not as monolithically stone and steel as it appears. Perhaps an aerial view might give a better impression?"

"Somehow I doubt it," Vendra murmured, but shot up into the air nonetheless.

The aerial view didn't give much more hope than the road-level view had. All it really did was let her map out a few places they might go, and even that didn't stretch far with how many buildings the paths passed through. One spot of hope did arise, and she quickly descended to share it. "I think I saw Captain Qwark!" she offered hopefully. "Looked like he was standing over that way by some sort of obstacle course!"

"Let's go check it out, then!" Ratchet responded immediately. "The sooner we're off this metal rock and somewhere with dirt under our feet instead of steel, the better!"

The group quickly raced down the road in the direction Vendra had indicated, Clank once more struggling to keep up until Ratchet grabbed hold of him and strapped the tiny robot to his back. It didn't take the group long to reach the spot Vendra had indicated, but they were disappointed by what they found.

Rather than the actual Captain Qwark, it was only an animatronic made to look like him and recite a pre-recorded message about the obstacle course it was based in front of, though admittedly in a good imitation of the Captain's voice. "Welcome to the Captain Qwark Fitness Course!" it declared in a loud, bombastic tone. "If you're strong enough, fast enough, and clever enough to beat my fitness challenge, you will receive a reward from my head trainer. Simply make your way to the third island to complete the course. Good luck!" The voice then dropped into a rapid whisper. "Qwark Enterprises is not responsible for sprains, broken bones, snapped tendons, bruised egos, or accidental death incurred while taking the challenge."

The trio exchanged glances. "Up for a challenge?" Ratchet asked.

"Bet I get there first!" Vendra called out.

"Ready set go!" Neftin declared, the trio rushing ahead to the first 'island'.

The islands each had towers on them, involving long jumps, jump slots, and zip lines to get up and across. The trio raced through – each in their own way – without missing a beat. Ratchet was more than mobile enough to make the leaps, and racing against the others back on Veldin had drastically increased his speed above and beyond his normal limits, especially when he strapped his Omniwrench to his back and raced forward on all fours. He triangle jumped up the jump tubes so fast it was hard to track him, even with the tubes sometimes retracting into the tower. Neftin's bulk slowed him down somewhat as far as taking the path, but he dealt with that by leaping upwards to grab the platform above him and haul himself up, easily keeping up with Ratchet as he climbed.

Vendra was easily in the lead, however. Rather than run and leap, she simply floated along ahead of her brothers, strong flaps of her energy wings giving an extra boost of speed as her nether energy sent her flying up the towers and sliding down the zip lines, grinding atop them. Ratchet braced his Omniwrench atop the line and slid down that way, while Neftin simply gripped with one armored hand, swaying back and forth before using the spin at the end of the line to launch himself up the next tower.

All three were neck and neck on the zip line to the third island, Vendra atop and Neftin's bulk making him rapidly catch up to Ratchet. Grinning widely, Ratchet released the line just before reaching the last island, kicking off Neftin's bulk to land on the island first, all three arriving just under a minute after they started their race. "I win!" he declared proudly.

"Cheap!" Neftin complained. "I would have overtaken you easy!"

"There was nothing in the rules against using each other to get ahead," Vendra pointed out playfully. "Wish I'd thought of it first."

"Well that was impressive!" a hefty-bodied fem-bot dressed in workout gear with Qwark's symbol on the top declared, her voice pleased with a German accent. "I'm used to getting nothink but lard balls on this course…but you three nearly broke the Keptain's record!"

"Only nearly?" Vendra asked challengingly. She turned to the others. "Wanna go back to the start and try to do it faster?"

The fem-bot burst into a deep belly laugh. "I like your style, Fräulein!" she declared jovially. "Here! The Keptain wants you to have these svingshots! You ken use them on that target over there!" She pointed to several floating buoys between their present location and the start of the course. "Should help moving around the city, too!"

"I recognize these!" Vendra said happily as the trio examined the cable-hook arrangement of the Gadget they were given. "They were in the Gadgetron catalogue! I even know how to use them!" Strapping hers to her wrist, she aimed it at the nearest target and triggered it. The hook lashed out, attached to the Versa-target, and yanked her through the air to drop down beyond it.

The fem-bot shook her head as she watched the trio entertain themselves with the new Gadget. "Real men don't need silly toys like that!" she declared irritably. She then sighed softly. "Still, they are children…though the big one might give the Keptain a run for his money when he's older…" With that, she hopped onto a hover-taxi and zoomed off.

It didn't take long for the group to return to the main path, continuing on in the other direction. A few wandering robo-dogs and Blarg troops wielding guns that fired small rockets guarded the paths, but went down easily to a ranged swing of Neftin's Scorpion Flail or any of the group's other weapons. Of greater danger was the few helicopters that attacked while they tried to cross bridges…mostly because taking them down ran the risk of damaging the bridges. Vendra dealt with those by flying up into the cockpits, kicking out the pilots, and taking control of it for as long as its ammo lasted before ditching it off the side of the path to drop into the abyss below. She would have grabbed one for each to ride around Metropolis, but the cockpit was too small for Neftin to ride in, and she refused to leave him out of the fun.

Further along the path, they encountered a robot that dropped small mines out of a pack on its back as it raced around. It did not last long.

It didn't take long after that until they reached Al's Robot Shack, recognizing it from the commercial on the infobot. Behind the counter was the yellow skinned man who had been in the ad. "Hey!" Vendra declared firmly as she leaned on the counter. "You that robot guy?"

"No, actually, I build robots," the man – Al, presumably, given he was wearing a "Big Al's Robot Shack" t-shirt – responded jokingly as he turned around. "I myself am not a robot guy, per se…" His voice trailed off as his eyes locked on Vendra. "…but I can be if you want…"

Vendra's face wrinkled in distaste. "Ick…"

Neftin quickly stepped forward, placing himself between Al and Vendra. "We're looking for Captain Qwark," he demanded irritably. "Where is he?"

"I'm afraid I haven't seen him since shooting the commercial," Al replied nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry."

"Any infobots around here?" Ratchet demanded curtly.

"Well, I think I spotted one out the back of my shop somewhere," Al allowed, noticing Vendra floating back to behind Ratchet. "So, uh, she's…?"

"Our little sister," Neftin stated flatly, one large hand idly crushing a solid steel paperweight on the counter into a tiny lump. "She's _eleven_."

"Want an upgrade for your robot?" Al offered quickly and nervously, pointing to Clank. "On the house, please don't kill me!"

Clank frowned as Neftin picked him up and dropped him on the counter. "This is hardly appropriate behavior from any of you," he pointed out judgmentally.

"No one cares," Ratchet responded flatly as Al got to work. Before long, Clank was installed with a Heli-Pack, which – when strapped to Ratchet's back – allowed him to boost Ratchet's jumping ability and slow his fall. This involved converting both his hands into helicopter blades, as well as extending one out the top of his head. The group then headed out the back.

The Heli-Pack upgrade was some assistance in Ratchet's continued progress. Neftin's climbing and jumping ability was already an equal to the pack if he got enough of a running start, and Vendra could easily float the distance under her own power. As a result, their path continued unabated until they boarded a hover-train which also had the infobot they were seeking.

After a quick ride – and emptying the train of Blargian troops – the group reached the infobot, and it played its message for them. It showed an image of a forested planet, with a robot soldier saluting the camera in the foreground. "Greetings, Executive Chairman Drek!" the bot greeted gruffly around the cigar in its mouth, saluting as it did so.

The image switched to a green view of Drek. "Dispense with the pleasantries, Lieutenant," Drek ordered bluntly. "My sources tell me you're behind schedule." The image shifted back to the planet, showing robot soldiers chopping down trees. "This planet must be harvested for our new world!"

"Yes sir," the robot commando responded. "As you can see, everything is moving along as planned."

"I'm counting on you, Lieutenant," Drek stated darkly. "And as your former commander can tell you, I don't take disappointment well."

"Yes sir," the Lieutenant responded. "I won't fail."

As the message ended and Clank collected the infobot, Vendra spoke up. "What planet was that?"

"Planet Eudora," Clank responded. "I have coordinates-"

"We're going there _now_ ," Vendra growled angrily. "That beautiful forest…I'm not letting them tear it up anymore! I'm not letting another Veldin become another Kerwan!"

Neftin and Ratchet exchanged glances. This was one perspective they hadn't expected from Vendra…not that they could argue. "Let's go, then," Ratchet decided. "We can get some information out of that Lieutenant about Drek, and who knows what else."

With that, the group turned to return to their ship.


	15. Chapter 15

It didn't take long for the ship to reach planet Eudora, though from the look on Vendra's face it was still far too long. It was hard to tell whether her upset was due to the confined space or her building irritation at the idea of destroying a pristine world for no good reason.

When they did land on Eudora, it was almost as picturesque as one could have hoped for such a world. The trees stood tall with wide boughs, green leaves shading the green grass that covered the tops of the tall cliffs. The one thing that detracted from the picturesque view was the Blargian demolition tech and bots who were no longer harvesting the trees, but actively destroying them. Seeing this, Vendra's eyes blazed with her Nether energy and her rage.

To Clank's surprise, every Blargian robot smaller than Vendra in sight seized up and exploded into light. "Remind me not to anger her," he murmured worriedly.

"Smart bot," Neftin said as he hefted one of the larger cranes before tearing it in half, dropping the now defunct two halves down a chasm between the cliffs.

Ratchet braced himself ready for combat...and the larger bots took one look at him and fled, plainly unwilling to see what _he_ was capable of after witnessing the raw destructive potential of his siblings. "So can anyone tell which parts of the structures are Blargian and which are native?" he asked curiously. "I'd rather not smash through anything that was a part of this place when we're actively trying to save it."

"The Gadgetron uplink comes with recorded map data," Neftin pointed out. "We can compare it to anything we come across and smash any structure not on the map."

"Let's get to smashing then," Vendra declared firmly.

The group quickly made their way along the linear path on the top of the cliff, dealing with the obstacles they encountered in their own way. With her initial burst of rage fueled energy expended, Vendra began gathering the smaller bots, crates, and other such objects of similar weight in a maelstrom around herself much as she did tools and various other things - like her siblings - while tinkering, flinging them at the larger bots if they got in her way. Neftin focused on destroying the Blargian infrastructure in an attempt to salvage the world's natural beauty. Ratchet focused on using his Omniwrench to open pathways and his weapons to deal with anything his siblings missed. Clank did his best to keep up with the walking disaster the trio represented.

After a time - and a great deal of property damage - the group came across a new weapon that was simply lying on the ground waiting to be picked up. "I recognize this one," Ratchet murmured as he tilted it back and forth. "This is the Suck Cannon. Someone in Gadgetron R&D tried to reproduce your levitation abilities with wind and gravitational manipulation, Vendra, but couldn't manage it completely. This was the result. It captures bots and crates below a specific size, stores them, and launches them at high speed."

Vendra glanced at the bots and boxes presently orbiting her. "So...like what I'm doing here?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah," Ratchet confirmed. "Except unlike you, it has an ammo limit."

"I do too," Vendra pointed out. "Any more than 50 and I start getting a serious headache."

"Better than 6," Ratchet pointed out. "Not to mention the suck and launch controls are the same button, meaning it can only efficiently collect if it's empty."

"We can see how we can improve on it later," Neftin offered dryly. "For now, let's see what other damage we can do."

The path soon looped them back to the landing pad. The only other path was through a locked door. "Smash it down!" Vendra insisted to Neftin.

"Three problems with that," Neftin pointed out before beginning to count them down on his fingers. "One, it's magnetically sealed, and my fist wouldn't even put a dent in the material unless the lock is disengaged."

"Smash the lock?" Ratchet suggested.

"Two, this is a Gadgetron Invinco-Lock," Neftin continued. "Completely indestructible as far as available technology can make it, up to and including my Nether energy amplified physical strength. After all, Vendra was on the design team. The only way it can be disabled is with the proper key or with a Trespasser gadget."

"...dig a tunnel?" Clank offered helpfully, gesturing to the solid rock cliff the door was built into.

"Three, this door is part of Eudora's infrastructure, and we're trying not to damage that," Neftin finished. "Same problem if we dug our way through the cliff."

"So what now?" Vendra asked angrily.

"We did not explore all possible paths on Planet Novalis," Clank spoke up. "It is possible a Trespasser Gadget or another infobot may be somewhere within the waterworks."

"Guess we're headed back to Novalis," Ratchet grumbled, leading the way back to the ship.

* * *

Planet Novalis didn't look any different from their last visit, so rather than look into areas they'd already explored the group turned to head into the waterworks. The path led straight up a slope covered in flowing water, normally impossible to ascend. Neftin solved this by slamming his fist into the wall, discharging some of his Nether energy through his cybernetics to make three large stalactites fall down, embedding in the slope with their flat tops above the water level to create stepping stones for the group.

The waterworks itself was entirely self-contained, with metal walls covered in circuitry and various systems running to process the water flowing through it in seemingly endless rivers through the middle of each large chamber they passed through. The area was patrolled only by robots, ranging from smaller than Vendra to slightly larger than Ratchet in size...and possessing little to no threat to the group acting in concert. They were careful not to damage the systems as they passed through, since this was part of Novalis' infrastructure.

Eventually they reached the top of the waterworks, where they found a dark-green skinned sophont covered in sparse dark brown spikes that were somewhere between being scales and hair, wearing a white shirt under brown worker overalls and black shoes. Various tools hung from his belt as he worked away at a machine before declaring, "Dadblast-it!"

As the man was bent over with his back towards the group, Ratchet decided to crack a joke. "Look, plumber's crack!" he spoke up playfully, making Neftin snicker and Vendra roll her eyes.

"What did you just say?" the plumber demanded as he spun to face Ratchet, revealing a thick black beard, thick black mustache, and bushy black eyebrows that overall gave him a somewhat intimidating appearance.

Ratchet smirked defiantly. "I said 'Look, plumber's crack'!" he countered challengingly. "Got a problem with that?"

The man blinked at the trio for a time. "Hmph!" he declared irritably. "So you three are the ones Wendall's so proud of? With how much he went on about you, I expected better."

Ratchet staggered back in shock as Vendra and Neftin's jaws dropped. "You know Gramps?" Neftin finally managed to ask.

"For quite some time," the man replied readily. "When next ya see him, ask him about The Plumber. And in the meantime, give a bit of thought to how you treat others...and what he might think of you for that. Is this really how you want to make him proud of you?"

"Hey!" Vendra snapped angrily. "Where do you get off-"

"Not somethin' I'll be talkin' about with a 13 year old girl," The Plumber interrupted, leaving Vendra blushing and Ratchet and Neftin struggling not to laugh. "But did ya really think Gadgetron was only about protecting the big brained little people?" He tossed an infobot their way. "I ain't gonna tell him about how you've been, he probably knows or expected it. But think before ya act or speak, will ya? Other people have feelings too, not just you three." Saying no more, The Plumber turned and leapt into the nearby flow of water, sliding out of the waterworks on his belly.

As he left, the infobot popped open to display its recorded message, showing two individuals in distress on a crashing ship. The three siblings didn't really listen, however. They were too deep in thought.

Clank observed the message and collected the Infobot. "I have coordinates for Planet Aridia," he observed calmly. "Will we be investigating for a Trespasser?"

"Yeah…" Ratchet agreed softly. "And...seeing if we can help those people…"


	16. Chapter 16

It was a thoughtful group that came in for a landing on Planet Aridia. The Plumber's words had made them think about their behavior and actions. While they still didn't care about what the vast majority of the galaxy thought of them, it made them realize how much they'd come to value Wendall Lumos' good opinion, and left them wondering if they were behaving in a way that would make them lose it.

As they stepped out of the ship, they took in their surroundings. Aridia was - unsurprisingly - an arid, desert world of sand, rock, and darkness, with only sand sharks visible as a form of life. Unlike what the name suggested, sand sharks were actually tiny red creatures about the size of the horned toads of Veldin that seemed to swim back and forth through the sand with a fin sticking up out of the top of its head, which it pushed out of the sand when about to attack for some reason.

As they arrived, they could see two crash sites in the distance, along with a massive structure that somewhat resembled an abandoned office building in shape. "So...two crash sites, and someplace to explore," Ratchet spoke up softly. "How do we want to do this?"

"I think we should split up," Vendra offered softly. "This place gives me the creeps, and the sooner we're off, the better."

"One of the crash sites is that way," Neftin pointed out. "There's a huge pool of quicksand in the way."

"Won't affect me," Vendra pointed out as she lightly hovered above the sand, her energy wings spread and idly flapping to maintain her hover.

"So Vendra's got that crash site," Ratchet concluded. "So...building or crash site, Neftin?"

"I'll take the building," Neftin volunteered. "Looks like there's quicksand on the way to the other crash site, and I'd sink right in."

"I'll take the other crash site then," Ratchet concluded. "Clank? Where will you go?"

"I will go with you, Ratchet," Clank decided. "Of the three of you, you are most likely to have need of my Heli-Pack for maneuverability."

"Then let's go," Ratchet declared as they turned to take their separate paths, Clank leaping onto Ratchet's back.

* * *

Ratchet's crash site destination was actually quite close to the ship, letting him get there within moments. When he recognized the skinny, green-skinned sophont waiting there, however, he got excited. "Skidd McMarx!" he declared excitedly. "You're the hoverboard champion!"

"No autographs, please!" Skidd responded immediately, preening a little.

"He was in the infobot," Clank pointed out. "Did you not watch?"

"So you got a look at that epic space battle I was in?" Skidd asked excitedly.

"Sorry, not really," Ratchet allowed. "So what happened?"

"My agent and I got ambushed on the way to hoverboard practice," Skidd explained expansively.

"Did he survive the crash, sir?" Clank asked curiously.

"Probably the crash Vendra's investigating," Ratchet observed idly.

"Really?" Skidd demanded petulantly. "Aw, weak! How come he's the one who gets the chick?"

Ratchet slowly turned a cold gaze Skidd's way. "That's my _little sister_ you're talking about," he growled out. "Who's _thirteen_."

"I didn't know, I swear!" Skidd called out defensively. "I never even saw her!"

Ratchet slowly brought his temper back down. "...fair enough," he allowed firmly. "Now, are you presently in distress?"

"Well, I'm having a little difficulty getting back to my ship due to my...sprained ankle," Skidd allowed, glancing nervously at a few sand sharks passing by. Noticing Ratchet's raised eyebrow, he quickly offered, "Got a spare hoverboard in it for you if you clear a path for me?"

Ratchet blinked flatly. "I already have the Z-3000 Gramps sent me for my last birthday present loaded into our ship, and they haven't made a new model since that one left testing."

"I'll...endorse you for the Championship race?" Skidd offered hopefully. "No way I'll make it to Blackwater City on Rilgar in time to compete. Ya might win and get famous?"

Ratchet frowned, honestly ready to just turn and walk away. He hesitated when he noticed Clank staring up at him. He thought about how he'd explain his choice to Gramps. "...fine," he said finally. "Just stay put and...keep your foot elevated."

* * *

Neftin easily ambled along towards the structure he set out to investigate. He had no real trouble as the size of his foot and fist impacts on the ground indicated to the sand sharks that he was _not_ desirable prey, and without sand shark presence the few Pyrociter-equipped robots set to patrol and keep the sand shark numbers in check had no interest in his presence.

As he reached the structure, he grinned. "Not quite a skyscraper...but I still always wanted to do this." Leaping up, he seized the side of the building in both hands and proceeded to haul himself up hand over hand by the metal beams of the structure. It didn't take him long to reach the open roof, at which point he proceeded to walk along the beams until he spotted something glowing in a wide open chamber. Leaping in, he picked up a three-pronged device he readily recognized. "What do you know...a Trespasser. The very thing we came here for." Plugging it into his cybernetics, he made his way back to the ship to meet up with the others.

* * *

Vendra easily coasted across the top of the wide pool of quicksand, the tips of her toes leaving only the slightest wake from grazing the top. It didn't take long for her to reach the other crash site, where she saw a somewhat professionally dressed green-skinned sophont marching back and forth while tapping away at a hand-held communicator. "Aaargh!" he snapped out. "No signal whatsoever! This downtime is killing me!"

"What's the problem?" Vendra asked curiously.

"The problem is I'm stranded on this backwater planet, and my star client is nowhere to be found!" the man snapped out, gesturing at his damaged escape pod.

Vendra looked it over briefly. "I could jury rig this into a mobile walker with repair capability to restore your ship to interplanetary functionality in about ten minutes," she offered helpfully. "Fifteen if you want to be able to reincorporate the escape pod into the new ship design."

The man blinked at her several times. "I'll believe that when I see it!" he declared primly.

Fifteen minutes later, he stared at the completed repair walker, having watched in awe as the pod seemed to disassemble itself at Vendra's will before coming back together in the new shape she wanted. "By the Sleepless Gods, the shows I could make on talent like that…"

"Not interested," Vendra answered readily as she wiped her hands. "The only one of us with any real interest in stardom is my brother Ratchet, if his hoverboarding obsession is anything to go by."

"If he's as good on a board as you are with a screwdriver, he'd make a great client!" the man declared eagerly. "If he can bring me the trophy from the next Hoverboard Championship race in Blackwater City, I'll make him my next star!"

"We'll think about it," Vendra answered easily as she floated back across the quicksand.

* * *

Once everyone gathered back together, Ratchet spoke up. "Please tell me someone did better than my recommendation toa Hoverboard competition?"

"Well, if you're talking the one in Blackwater City, I could get you an agent from winning it," Vendra offered helpfully.

Neftin smirked as he twisted his arm, extending the three prongs from his cybernetics. "Guess who found a Trespasser!" he crowed happily.

"Then let us return to Eudora with all non-destructive speed," Clank suggested before Vendra or Ratchet could get too put out about 'a wasted trip' on their parts.

* * *

Once back on Eudora, Neftin easily circumvented the Invinco-Lock to get past the sealed door. Beyond the door was a winding path of Swingshot targets, floating platforms, and another Invinco-lock door before they reached the one who they saw on the Infobot as being in charge of the deforestation operation on Eudora. On catching sight of him, Vendra's eyes narrowed. "I want a word with you!" she roared out as she floated forward, her wings flapping idly as energy raced up her twin-horn hairstyle from her eyes.

"REPENT!" the bot screamed out as he turned and fled, dropping an infobot as he raced away...only to be knocked off a cliff by Neftin's Scorpion Tail mace.

Clank shot Neftin a look, to which he shrugged. "What? Nobody gets to call our little sis a devil...except us!"

"Hey!" Vendra complained playfully as Ratchet laughed and the infobot displayed its message.

The message contained an advertisement from Blarg Tactical Research Station, filmed by Chairman Drek, and displaying many intriguing aspects of the station.

"That stuff could be useful," Neftin pointed out. "I could easily tweak some of it to be useful for us."

"Pretty sure I could make some new tech from some of it," Vendra added.

"Then let's set a course!" Ratchet called out happily.

"Coordinates downloaded," Clank confirmed as they returned to the ship.


	17. Chapter 17

It didn't take long for the group's ship to reach the Blargian Tactical Research Station. On the approach, they saw a standard station arrangement, with a central hub surrounded by a single ring, with a few asteroids captured within the range of the station for both external experiments and extra resources. To their surprise, the docking bay opened automatically to allow them entrance, despite the odd configuration of their ship.

"Okay, that seems suspicious," Neftin pointed out flatly even as Ratchet steered them in for landing, the doors closing behind them. "Think it's a trap?"

"If it is, our weaponry is more than strong enough to blast out the outer doors," Vendra pointed out logically. "That, and the negative gravity generator will let us turn the ship around on a dime without even shifting it." As if to prove the point, she set the ship to idly rotate randomly in the air once they were all out on the deck.

"Alternatively, the security might have been disabled due to an accident here," Ratchet pointed out calmly. "Assuming there ever was security. Given the way some of the tech we saw on the infobot video 'functioned', the higher ups might think anyone without the proper clearance to come here is going to wind up destroyed accidentally."

"Or, given the implied turnover rate, anyone who shows up without security clearance is a job applicant," Clank offered helpfully.

"What's the application process then?" Neftin joked easily. "Survive finding someone in charge?"

A bestial roar echoed through the station.

"...quite possibly," Clank allowed nervously.

"Sounds fun," Ratchet, Vendra, and Neftin all responded together.

"Do try to keep collateral damage to a minimum," Clank pleaded morosely, uncertain if it would have any effect.

"Of course we will!" Vendra snapped out defensively. "We're on a _space station!_ Even with Nether Energy, explosive decompression does _not_ sound fun."

Clank blinked in surprise, then nodded. While he would have preferred a less self-centered motivation, he decided he would take what he could get.

"So where to?" Vendra asked curiously as Neftin checked his Gadgetron uplink.

"Looks like the station is a loop like we saw from the outside," Neftin concluded as he scanned the map. "Only one door's open right now, and the only other path is an EVA path and a docked ship we can explore...except the docking shuttle is off. Looks like the activation switch is along the EVA path."

"Well, none of us have space suits, so it's not like we can follow the EVA path," Ratchet pointed out grumpily.

"Clank could," Vendra pointed out. "And once he gets back, he can wait for us in our ship if we're still exploring the station."

"...I suppose I could," Clank allowed uncertainly. He didn't like the idea of letting the trio loose on their own, but he didn't exactly have grounds to object...nor means to rein in their behavior if he went with them.

"First, let's see if there's anything useful from the vendor," Neftin suggested, indicating a nearby Gadgetron vendor uplink. "Might be some useful weaponry...or at least, ones that keep the collateral damage inside a space station down."

Curious, Ratchet went over and opened the vendor. "Only thing new is the Taunter," he observed ruefully. "Not exactly useful...why'd we send the design in again?"

"As a prank," Vendra allowed ruefully. "Every idea we were sending in was being made, so we decided to see if we could make something deliberately useless and if it would still be made."

"While it would indeed be thus for a solo combatant," Clank observed thoughtfully, "it would be most useful if one of you had it, as you could draw attention from hostiles into a trap laid by your companions, or away from either companion or civilian about to be overwhelmed."

The trio paused as they thought that over. "...didn't think of that..." Ratchet allowed.

"I'll take it for now," Neftin decided firmly. "If it draws all enemy attention, I'm the one who can take the most punishment." Purchasing the gadget, he installed it into his cybernetics as he had the Trespasser.

"I'll get one, too," Ratchet offered, buying a second and stashing it. "I'm the most agile, so that's better for leading to ambushes."

"In that case, we should begin our explorations," Clank observed as he turned to the airlock, once Neftin had opened it with his Trespasser.

"See you when we get back!" Ratchet called back as the groups took the separate paths.

* * *

The trio made their way carefully down the single path through the station. The corridors were round and narrow, though large enough for the three to pass easily. A few vents sprayed toxic mist at foot level, a minor obstacle for the trio. Vendra floated over it, Ratchet leapt over, and Neftin walked through it as the cybernetics on his legs took no damage from the gas. Of greater concern were odd mutant creatures that wandered the tunnels that somewhat resembled the Horned Toads of Veldin, but bright green...though about as durable, although they traveled in swarms. However, it was soon discovered that a single Netherblade launched into the corridor would clear it out rapidly.

"This all we're going to deal with?" Ratchet asked dismissively.

"Do any of them look big enough to make that roar we heard earlier?" Vendra countered worriedly.

"...fair point," Ratchet allowed nervously.

A few Blargian guards patrolled the corridors, dressed in hazmat suits and armed with a weapon that sent a wave of flame over the ground, plainly an extermination tool. Vendra dealt with them by floating over the waves and delivering a knock out strike once she was close enough.

The few larger chambers they encountered proved easy enough to maneuver, despite the propensity of vents with toxic gas. As they usually included Versa Swing targets for their swingshots, Vendra was able to give Ratchet a lift through most of them, while Neftin marched through by a combination of main strength and holding his breath.

When they moved to clear a shock field blocking a path, however, larger mutant creatures moved to the attack. These had low slung armored bodies, long necks, and armored heads with large eyes and mouths filled with sharp teeth. Vendra's instant reaction to one approaching had been to swing her Nether energy blades at the neck, severing it and instantly killing the creature. When another approached, Neftin dealt with it by reaching out and crushing its head in one hand.

"These things don't look healthy," Vendra observed in a more disciplined than normal voice as she stared at the green ichor spilling over the floor from the dead creatures, her own cheeks looking a trifle green...though not the color.

"For us either," Ratchet observed nervously, having seen how quickly they scuttled across the floor and snapped out with those large jaws. Noticing Vendra's unease, he carefully helped her away from the mess.

When they next encountered more of the larger mutants, Ratchet dealt with them by leaping onto the first's back and directing his Taunter towards the other. This led to that one aiming a strike at the one Ratchet was standing on, only for Ratchet to leap out of the way. This led to the pair of creatures tearing each other apart viciously, along with the frog-like mutants that were also present. Vendra did her best to hold her lunch down as she watched, as she never had the same tolerance for gore that her brothers had. Neftin took the lead as they went further, finding it oddly satisfying to use the Taunter to lead enemies into charging the electrical fields between them to vaporization...especially as this left no gore to distress Vendra.

The trio then entered a massive chamber where the lights were tinted green. "I think this must be the central hub..." Vendra observed thoughtfully.

At that moment, a massive mutant creature of the long-necked variety dropped down in front of the group. It roared at the trio...until to let out chocking noises as Neftin hurled the ball of his Scorpion Flail down its gullet, preventing it from biting, roaring...or breathing. A minute or so later, it fell over, either unconscious or dead.

"That was quick," Neftin observed thoughtfully as he pulled his weapon back.

Continuing past the chamber, the trio came across a small, bear-like scientist being harassed by two frog-like mutants. Vendra seized them in her energy and tossed them back into the large chamber hard enough for them to hit the opposite wall and fall, unmoving. "Whew, I thought I was a goner this time," the scientist gasped as he brushed off his lab coat. "Some nano-wit in genetics must have left the cages open again."

"So...that _wasn't_ the job application test?" Neftin asked, disappointed.

"Not on your life!" the scientist snapped out. "This whole place is collapsing financially, and I'm getting out of here! Just as soon as I get the funds to put a job application through to Gadgetron, and survive until I get a job there."

"You're an inventor?" Vendra asked curiously.

"Gadget Engineer, actually," the scientist corrected. "Like with these!" He pulled out a pair of boots with odd gripping pads on the bottom. "My soon to be patented Grindboots!"

Vendra took a close look at the boots. "What are these grippers for?" she asked curiously.

"You know all those rails and pipes connecting everywhere that young punks like to grind down on hoverboards and the like?" the scientist asked. "Like that one over there?" He pointed to a rail following the path back to the docking bay. "These boots will grip those rails so you'll stay on them no matter how you lean, making it possible to get to places normally inaccessible on foot as well as allowing you to defend yourself along the way as balance becomes less of an issue!"

"Fascinating," Neftin murmured as his optic enhancement extended for analysis. "Shouldn't be too hard to add that function to my leg cybernetics-"

"Now hang on!" the scientist interrupted, pulling the boots back. "If you want these, you'll need to buy them! Like I said, I need the funds to get out of here and keep afloat until I can get a job at Gadgetron! I can sell them at cost, but that's as low as I can go!"

"We...don't exactly have much in the way of liquid funds," Vendra allowed worriedly. "Most of it is tied up in our trust fund, which we can't access yet."

"And the rest is Gadgetron store credit," Neftin added.

"Do you work for Gadgetron?" the scientist asked in surprise.

"Sort of," Ratchet allowed awkwardly. "Gramps takes anything we develop and sends it through to manufacturing for sales, but we're technically to young to hold a job still."

"Really?" the scientist asked in surprise. "And just who _is_ your Grandfather that he can waive so many regulations?"

"Wendall Lumos," Vendra allowed easily.

The scientist stared in shock. "Oh. My. Gosh. You're the Prog triplets!"

"Is that what we're called now?" Ratchet joked in surprise.

"Can you put a good word in for me with Gadgetron?" he pleaded urgently.

Neftin suddenly smirked. "Tell you what," he offered easily. "Our ship's got room for a small extra passenger, and we're heading to Kalebo III ourselves...just as soon as we find coordinates. If you let me upload the schematics for the Grindboots into my cybernetics and let Ratchet wear that pair, we'll take you along with us and introduce you to Gramps personally, as well as tell him how well they work."

"Deal!" the scientist declared urgently, handing the boots over.

Ratchet smirked as he pulled the boots on, while Neftin did a deep scan before programming his leg cybernetics with the new schematics.

"And what about me?" Vendra demanded crossly.

"You can float along the rails already," Neftin pointed out logically.

Vendra turned that over in her mind for a time, then pouted. "Doesn't mean I don't want a new toy..."

"Maybe Clank found something you can use," Ratchet suggested thoughtfully as he leapt onto the rail.

Rolling her eyes, Vendra followed. Neftin followed her soon after, carrying the scientist.

It wasn't long before the group reached the docking bay...just as Clank returned from his EVA. "Did you find anything useful out there?" Vendra asked eagerly.

"Indeed!" Clank agreed, opening his chest compartment and pulling out what looked like an oversized supersoaker.

Vendra carefully balanced it in her hands uncertainly. "And...this is?" she asked awkwardly.

"A Hydrodisplacer!" Clank offered happily.

"Great..." Vendra allowed sarcastically. "I always wanted one of these..." She glowered at Neftin and Ratchet, who were stifling their snickers. She made a mental note to figure out how to tweak the device so she could release the massive aquatic payload it collected at moving targets, as opposed to just into proper receptacles.

"So...now where to?" Neftin asked as the scientist hid in the back of their ship's cockpit until they could get to Kalebo III. "We don't have any new coordinates..."

"We have yet to explore the Blargian ship," Clank pointed out helpfully.

"Or figure out how to activate the shuttle," Ratchet pointed out dryly.

"Oh, it was only on lockdown while the mutants were running loose!" the scientist called out helpfully. "Part of containment protocol!"

"Thanks for mentioning it!" Vendra called out as the group headed for the shuttle.

* * *

As the shuttle docked with the warship, Clank turned towards one of the hatches just inside. "There is an infobot behind this door," he observed helpfully, "but the doors are sealed tight."

"Too thick to cut through," Vendra observed irritably.

"Too strong to punch through..." Neftin added thoughtfully.

"Don't all interior doors automatically open in the event of a self-destruct, for safe evacuation?" Ratchet asked curiously. "Pretty sure I read that somewhere."

"Such commands can only be given at the bridge," Clank pointed out cautiously. "And that's at the _other_ end of the ship."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Vendra declared eagerly, turning to the other door that opened at her approach. "Let's go!"

With the four traveling together, it wasn't long before they reached the bridge as they had more than enough firepower - and muscle power - to steamroll over the few Blargian troops and frog-like mutants that wandered the halls. On top of that, the ship wasn't all that large. The two long-necked mutants on the bridge barely slowed them down at all.

"So...how do we activate the self-destruct?" Neftin asked curiously, looking over the controls.

"Maybe this big red button?" Ratchet asked curiously.

"Please!" Vendra chided dismissively. "That's only in holo-films and books. Only an idiot would _actually_ make the self-destruct a big red button anyone could push accidentally."

"An idiot like...one who thinks it makes more sense to build a new planet out of chunks of others rather than terraforming a dead one?" Neftin pointed out.

Vendra raised a hand to counter...then pouted. "Fine, let's try it."

Smirking, Ratchet struck the button.

Explosions rocked the ship. "Thank you for selecting the automated self destruct feature," a computerized voice declared calmly. "Vessel annihilation sequence initiated. Please remove all personal belongings."

"Let's book it!" Neftin called out as he charged back down the corridors, Vendra and Ratchet hot on his heels with Clank on Ratchet's back. As expected, the door blocking the infobot opened in response to the self destruct, and it quickly boarded the shuttle with them to escape back to the station.

* * *

Once they reached the station, the Infobot began playing its message, which turned out to be a news report.

"This is Darla Gratch reporting from Blackwater City," a robotic news reporter declared, a Blargian exterminator troop walking by in the background. "We just learned that Captain Qwark will be presenting the Grand Prize at the Intergalactic Hoverboard Championship, which will be held here over the next few days." As she spoke, a massive amoeba-like, bright green, goop creature flopped up to the exterminator troop before eating it. Darla Gratch turned to watch it happen, then back to the camera. "In related news, this planet has recently been suffering from an infestation of strange ameboid creatures." As she spoke, the creature slowly shuffled up to her. "The city's administration has assured this reporter that every step has been taken to eradicate these nuisances." The creature opened its maw wide. "Darla Gratch, channel 2 news." The camera went out just before it ate her.

"So...the competition that will make me a hoverboard star, _and_ the hero Clank's been looking for, both in one place," Ratchet concluded thoughtfully. "That's a helpful coincidence."

"Coordinates downloaded for Planet Rilgar," Clank spoke up helpfully. "Will we be doing anything about the ameboid infestation while we're there?"

"Only if they get in our way," Vendra concluded firmly. "Otherwise, it's the government's job to take care of it, right?"

Clank frowned disapprovingly.

"We did tell the guy back on Novalis that we were mercenaries," Neftin pointed out. "I suppose if the government decides to pay us to exterminate them, we'll go out of our way to do so."

Clank sighed ruefully. "Fair enough."


	18. Chapter 18

As their ship set down on the only unoccupied landing pad on Planet Rilgar anywhere near Blackwater City - just off the coast, as a matter of fact - the group leapt out of the cockpit to examine their surroundings, leaving their passenger to stay in the back of the cockpit. The city proved to be made entirely of tall, soaring buildings with narrow paths between them, and various bits of metallic detritus floated in the water between the rocky island the city sat on and their landing pad. The siblings disliked what they saw of the city at first glance.

"I _really_ don't like being surrounded by so many tall buildings..." Vendra grumbled as she stared at where they would have to go.

"No more do we," Neftin agreed.

"But it looks like that's where we'll have to go," Ratchet growled. "The sooner we hand this mission off to Captain Qwark, the sooner we can start looking for directions to Kalebo II." He glanced back and forth. "Looks like we can follow the path over there, or head through the sewers..."

"Path it is," Vendra stated firmly, floating along in the indicated direction. The others quickly followed.

As they moved, they discovered a new sort of enemy obstacle, a massive green tank that spewed some sort of green damaging ooze. As the first one they encountered was inside a structure, a few Nether Blades released within made quick work of it, along with everything else in the structure. Further along, they encountered an Ameboid creature like what they'd seen on the infobot. While any weapon was enough to break its cohesion in a single shot, this only resulted in it splitting into two smaller creatures until there wasn't enough left to shape a new one, rendering them more annoying than threatening.

"So...the government's having so much trouble dealing with these things?" Ratchet asked derisively. "Why?"

"Perhaps it is more dangerous in greater numbers, or in more enclosed environments?" Clank theorized. "Or perhaps they reproduce at an alarming rate?"

"In other words, because they're ideal prey for my Nether Blades, and no one here has one?" Vendra countered playfully.

"Could be," Neftin allowed thoughtfully.

Before long, the group reached an air cab, an empty hover car-shaped platform for transporting individuals between two designated locations at no charge. Hopping on, they activated it to take them downtown, letting them enter the city proper. Once inside, after clearing out a few hostiles, they encountered a green-skinned, somewhat shady looking sophont in a trenchcoat and dark shades, despite it being night time.

"RYNO for your robot," he offered insistently. "Trade ya."

"Not a chance," Vendra responded immediately. "Why the heck would we want that overpriced hunk of junk?"

"Junk?" the shady individual countered. "Do you even know what the RYNO is?"

"Rip Ya a New One," Neftin translated readily. "A heavy ordinance rocket launcher that releases a volley of homing rockets with every shot, unleashing devastating damage...that is a pale shadow of what a volley of Nether Blades can create when equipped with the Lock-On Mod, especially when each round of ammo for the RYNO costs as much as an entire clip for Nether Blades and the Mod, and due to the complicated nature of the ammunition the weapon can not be replenished via the nano-constructs in Ammunition Crates."

"...yeah, overpriced hunk of junk describes that rather well," Ratchet agreed happily.

"Not to mention that weapons of that degree require proper licensing to sell and trade," Clank pointed out thoughtfully. "Not to mention it is only manufactured by the Blarg, and isn't available for trade elsewhere in the galaxy, and the Blarg are not selling it."

"Mostly because Gadgetron refused a contract for manufacture and sale before the Blarg began dismantling planets," Vendra confirmed dryly.

"Look, if you don't want my merchandise-" the shady trader began.

"I'll give you 2000 bolts to look at it for five seconds," Neftin offered. "While I don't want to carry it around, I would like to see a completed model."

"Deal," the trader agreed, hauling the weapon out once the bolts were handed over. It was a massive block of rocket launcher tubes braced on a shoulder mount, a large clip, and a trigger mechanism. It was plainly designed for function with little - if any - consideration for form. Once the five seconds were up, he put it away. "Pleasure doing business with you," he continued before sauntering away.

"Really?" Vendra asked Neftin in disbelief.

"Got the full schematics," Neftin pointed out, tapping his optic cybernetic. "Should have a more functional version synthesized in my arm by the time we leave the planet. Considering black market prices for a RYNO are upwards of 100,000 bolts, I think I got a bargain."

"I...am not sure how to feel about that," Clank admitted worriedly as the trio exchanged a group high five.

Continuing along the available paths while following the map provided by the Gadgetron Uplink, the group easily passed a large underground chamber filled with Ameboids and Blargian troops through the simple expedient of launching Netherblades into the groups once they were engaged in attacking each other. Once back on the surface, a maze of areas blocked off by laser grid walls was avoided by the simple expedient of climbing, flying, or jumping atop the network and walking across, dropping bombs to either side to deal with the troops that tried to take pot shots at them, or the Ameboids that were locked up since it was en route.

Before long, the group reached an isolated courtyard in the middle of the city, where a green skinned female sophont dressed in skin tight purple that flattered her somewhat exaggerated hourglass figure waited with a bored expression on her face. As they approached, her expression turned more energetic. "Welcome to the Hovercon Intergalactic Hoverboard Competition!" she declared exuberantly. "Captain Qwark's giving away a brand new Platinum Zoomerator to the winner of this competition."

"But I've already got one of those on my hoverboard," Ratchet complained.

"It's an event specific one," Neftin pointed out. "It'll be engraved with details of the event in question."

"Which will be the proof needed of your victory here so Skid's agent will take you on," Vendra added.

"Wait, you guys know Skid McMarx?" the woman asked in surprise and excitement.

"Helped him out when he crashed on planet Aridia," Ratchet explained readily. "Afraid he's on the injured list, and can't make it."

"Well if his agent has his eye on you, maybe we'll see if you can...fill in for him," the woman suggested playfully. "Ready to...compete?" She winked suggestively.

"Uhh..." Ratchet responded uncertainly, only to blink as a bright pink glow was cast over the area.

"Calm down Vendra," Neftin said firmly, resting one hand over Vendra's glowing hair as her eyes blazed, her teeth clenched tight.

The woman blinked in surprise. "Girlfriend?" she asked Ratchet quietly.

"Little sister," Ratchet answered, still confused.

"Ah, even worse," the woman agreed. "Whenever you're ready to enter the competition."

"Just as soon as I calm her down," Ratchet offered warily.


	19. Chapter 19

Once Vendra had calmed down, Ratchet entered the competition. Given how long he'd practiced on his hoverboard, his skill level was on par with the other racers, though his slimmer frame meant less air resistance allowing him to maintain a higher speed. Between that and his cat-like reflexes, he was able to cut corners much finer and take longer leaps than the other racers dared, which allowed him to easily claim a commanding lead. Between that and his greater flair with various tricks, he claimed both first place and high ratings from the audience.

As he returned to the plaza for the awarding ceremony, he was disappointed but not surprised to see that Qwark had almost literally phoned it in, with a recorded message. "Hi folks, Captain Qwark here," his image declared. "It is my distinct pleasure to introduce this year's Hovercon Intergalactic Champions. Let's give it up for newcomer-"

The screen cut to a still image of Ratchet in the middle of one of his tricks. "Ratchet," a computerized voice filled in.

The screen cut back to Qwark. "Today's winner will receive a brand new, professional Grade, Model T-15 Platinum Zoomerator." The woman who'd been handling registration held up the item in question, obviously displaying it for Holo-Vision. "Manufactured by Gadgetron-"

"-this hoverboard drive delivers more lift, speed and maneuverability than any other anti-grav device on the market," Neftin parroted as Qwark was giving his spiel. Seeing the woman looking at him, he shrugged. "What? Who do you think wrote that pitch when the design was sent in?"

"Or how I already had one?" Ratchet added. The woman chuckled as she tossed the device to him.

"Well folks, that's all the time we have-" the image of Qwark continued, but the group ignored it.

"I heard some weather patterns in the background of the recording that match what's happening here and now," Vendra pointed out. "He's on planet somewhere."

"Perhaps in that trailer beyond that gate?" Clank suggested, indicating the gate in question.

"Makes sense," Neftin confirmed, checking his Gadgetron Uplink for the map. "Looks like we can get there if we take the path through the sewers..."

"Or we can slip through the bars," Ratchet suggested as he backflipped through the gaps in the gate to land on the other side.

"I'm all for that," Vendra added as she floated her slim body through after him.

"I'm a bit big for that..." Neftin pointed out awkwardly.

Smirking, Ratchet stepped onto the switch on that side of the gate, opening it up.

"That works," Neftin allowed as he stepped through. Clank followed him calmly.

As they approached the trailer, however, a rather large green-skinned sophont in a black muscle shirt and cargo shorts stepped up to block their approach. "Hey, hey, hey!" he spoke up angrily. "Press conference is over. Captain Qwark don't want no more reporters bugging him in his trailer!"

"We aren't reporters," Neftin stated firmly as he stepped up, to his surprise towering over the thug. "We're mercenaries."

The thug leaned back, plainly intimidated by the massive amount of armaments stored in Neftin's cybernetics as well as his sheer size. "Okay, you I'd believe that from, but the rest of you?"

Vendra calmly floated herself into the air...and the thug. "Convinced yet?"

"T-that's only two out of four!" the thug insisted. "And how do I know that's a battle bot and not a camera bot?"

Vendra calmly floated Clank over to her. "A moment please." She then turned her back to the thug and floated Clank in front of her.

"Vendra, I am not so sure-" Clank began.

"Relax, it's no different than the Heli-Pack upgrade," she insisted calmly as she popped open his chest compartment. "I got a good look at your internal circuitry, so this should be relatively simple..."

"I am still not-GRTXTYSPTLK!" Clank's words were interrupted as a brief pulse of energy the bright pink of Nether energy mixed with a bright blue of some other sort flared over his body. "What was that?" he demanded in surprise.

Vendra calmly closed his chest compartment. "Something I've been tinkering with in the blueprint stage since I got a look at your inactive quantum systems," she explained readily. "I can't activate them, but I _can_ tap something into them to enable you to generate Nether Energy as well. The code word is 'Alter Beast'."

"Alter...Beast?" Clank asked in surprise...and bright pink energy flared over his body. his manipulators extended crystalline claws as his body bulked up somewhat, spikes over his back as a defensive barrier, and sharp teeth-like structures in his jaw. He blinked as his eyes glowed pink, his entire body crackling with energy. "This is...most impressive..." his voice hissed out as he looked himself over. "But...how do I change back?"

"Code Green," Vendra replied proudly.

"Code Green," Clank repeated, reverting back to normal.

"Okay, that's definitely a battle bot," the thug admitted. "But what do mercenaries want with the Captain?"

"Something above your pay grade," Neftin stated calmly as he lifted the man up and set him aside. "And trying to stop professional mercenaries is more than you're being paid for."

"...yeah, definitely," the thug agreed as he backed up further. The group calmly entered the trailer.


End file.
